Wells man pleads guilty to falsely saying he was buying guns for himself

PORTLAND, Maine - A Wells man pleaded guilty today in federal court to providing false information to firearms dealers while purchasing firearms, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced on Thursday.

According to court records, in April 2019, Christopher Thomas Proach, 24, purchased seven firearms from three different federal firearm licensees in Cumberland and York counties.

While purchasing the firearms, Proach responded "Yes" to a question on an ATF form that asked him if he was purchasing the firearms for himself. In truth, he was purchasing the firearms for a Connecticut resident. He gave all seven firearms to the Connecticut resident immediately after the sales. It is against federal law to provide false information to federal firearm licensees when purchasing firearms from them.

Proach faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the three counts to which he pleaded guilty. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Wells Police Department investigated the case as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.