Machinegun Trafficker Sentenced to Over 6 Years in Prison

GRAND RAPIDS - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Wolf Harper, 37, from Lansing, was sentenced to 83 months in prison for possession and transfer of machineguns and possession of a short-barreled rifle.

Harper sold a short-barreled rifle with a silencer (shown below) and 74 machinegun conversion devices, or auto sears, to an undercover agent. A conversion device enables semiautomatic firearms to fire as fully automatic weapons, shooting up to 1000 rounds of ammunition a minute and allowing a magazine to be emptied with a single pull of the trigger. A conversion device is a machinegun under federal law. When investigators arrested Harper, he had 30 more conversion devices in his possession and approximately 20 more at home.

Also in Harper's home were nine silencers, numerous weapons, and tactical gear:

Law enforcement found a sophisticated firearms manufacturing workshop in one bedroom:

U.S. Attorney VerHey stated that he was pleased with the results of the case. "Street gangs and drug traffickers have recently escalated the danger they pose to our communities by choosing to carry machineguns rather than ordinary firearms when they can. This leads to tragic and predictable results: not only do the criminals harm and kill one another, innocent bystanders often get caught in the crossfire. Harper was willing to sell his deadly products to all buyers, no questions asked. My office will always put people like him at the top of the list of offenders we will investigate and bring to justice."

"Wolf Harper was motivated by money and his actions demonstrated a complete disregard for the safety of others," said James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Detroit Field Division. "Machinegun conversion devices are inherently dangerous and represent a clear danger to public safety. In the hands of prolific shooters who terrorize our neighborhoods with gun violence, these devices represent tools of urban warfare. In this case, Harper selfishly put profit ahead of logic. He will have plenty of time to reflect on that while he sits in federal prison. ATF will identify and prosecute anyone who traffics in these illegal devices and work with our partners to hold them accountable."

This case was investigated by ATF. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. For more information, visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.