JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Clay County man was found guilty Friday of conspiring to transfer unregistered machine gun conversion devices that were referred to as “auto key cards.”
Kristopher Ervin, 41, of Orange Park, who pleaded not guilty in 2021, was also convicted of seven counts of transferring unregistered machinegun conversion devices, three counts of possessing unregistered machinegun conversion devices and one count of structuring cash transactions to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements.
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Matthew Hoover, 39, was also convicted on a conspiring charge as well as four counts of transferring unregistered machinegun conversion devices.
According to the Justice Department, Ervin was selling devices online known as auto-sears, which can be used to modify a semiautomatic gun and allow it to fire automatically using only a single pull of the trigger. The federal government said Ervin had the devices manufactured at a Jacksonville machine shop for $5 each and then sold them for up to $139 a piece.
These devices, which are also known as lightning links, are about the size of a credit card and sellers must register them with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The one-count indictment stemmed from a tip a federal agent received in January that Ervin was selling the devices online. The government said Ervin began this enterprise in November 2020 and sold more than 1,300 devices, making over $130,000.
According to the government, the selling point of the devices was obvious: buying a machine gun costs thousands of dollars, while buyers could pay $139 for a device capable of turning AR-15-style rifles into automatic weapons.
Federal agents bought items from Ervin’s website using postal money orders, with the proceeds being deposited into Ervin’s credit union account. An ATF expert was able to turn an AR-15-style rifle into an automatic firearm using one of the devices.
Agents conducting surveillance Feb. 22, 2021, watched as Ervin delivered 22 packages to an Orange Park post office. After obtaining search warrants, an inspector found the packages contained metal cards etched with an auto-sear design, according to court documents.
Ervin was taken into custody March 2, 2021, in Columbia County. Agents recovered $3,700, over 1,500 auto-sear devices, machinery that was used to manufacture the devices, guns, computers, and packaging materials. The ATF also seized multiple websites they said belonged to Ervin.
The ATF has been able to compile a partial customer list, including eight people with multiple purchases in the Jacksonville area, though it’s unclear where the tip that sparked the investigation originated.
Prosecutors noted that at one point Ervin went to the machine shop that fabricated the devices to complain about their quality. Once the owner realized what the devices were, he cut ties and destroyed the rest of the inventory.
Ervin faces a maximum penalty of 110 years in federal prison and Hoover faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in federal prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 31.