Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully residing in Marlborough was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for trafficking firearms.
Guilherme Fernandes-Tavares, 31, was indicted on one count of dealing firearms without a license. He will be arraigned in federal court on July 30, 2025. Fernandes-Tavares was previously charged by criminal complaint on March 7, 2025.
According to the charging documents, between December 2023 and May 2024, Fernandes-Tavares sold 11 firearms and ammunition across 10 different dates and offered others for sale. It is alleged that the firearms sold were pistols, some of which were privately manufactured firearms without serial numbers and one of which had an obliterated serial number. It is further alleged that one of the firearms was sold with a large capacity magazine that could hold 28 rounds of ammunition. In addition, a package intended for Fernandes-Tavares sent from Florida was intercepted and allegedly found to contain an additional firearm.
The charge of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Bryan DiGirolamo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; and the Westborough Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.