Defendant Gail Manney has a son, Razaaq, who is a convicted felon. As such, Razaaq is precluded by federal law from owning or possessing a firearm. (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).) On April 21, 2021, Manney went to a gun store, a “federal firearms licensee” in Reno, Nev., and arranged to purchase seven firearms. While Manney was in the store checking out the guns, the store clerk noticed that she was continually on her cellphone, talking to someone while taking photographs of the various guns. Upon selecting the guns she wanted, Manney signed an ATF Form 4473 for each firearm, certifying that she was the actual purchaser of the firearms. It was arranged that she would pick them up at a later time in order to give the store the time needed to complete the necessary federal background check before turning the guns over to her.

In the meantime, suspecting that Manney was purchasing the firearms for someone else as a “straw purchaser,” the clerk contacted the local ATF office. An ATF special agent arranged to be present when Manney returned to pick up her guns. After Manney paid for the guns, the special ....