Skip to main content
News

San Francisco ‘ghost gun’ dealer pleads guilty to federal weapons charges

A pair of handcuffs on a wooden surface.
Prosecutors say Craig Bolland used a 3D printer, drill press and machine called a Ghost Gunner 3 to manufacture guns with no serial numbers. | Source: Bernd Wüstneck/Picture alliance via Getty Images

A San Francisco firearms dealer this week pleaded guilty to various weapons charges, according to federal prosecutors.

Craig Bolland admitted to four counts of possession of a machine gun, three counts of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California said in a statement.

Bolland confessed to his involvement in manufacturing and selling illegal firearms from at least June 2021 through May 30, 2023, when he was arrested. He also admitted to engaging in these activities despite being convicted of a felony in 2007 and being prohibited from possessing guns, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Bolland used a 3D printer, drill press and machine called a Ghost Gunner 3 to manufacture “ghost guns” that lacked serial numbers.

In addition to making his own guns, he confessed to modifying preexisting firearms, including installing “switches” to enable semi-automatic firearms to become fully automatic.

Bolland was paid through cash, cryptocurrency and drugs, authorities said.

He also confessed to brokering multiple guns and ammunition deals between other buyers and sellers to make profits for himself, prosecutors added.

Despite being a convicted felon, he admitted to possessing hundreds of rounds of pistol and rifle ammunition, more than a dozen firearm frames and receivers, at least four pistols and an AR-15-style 5.56mm caliber rifle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bolland faces a maximum of 35 years in prison, and he may serve another period of supervised release and pay a fine of $250,000 per count. He will be sentenced on Dec. 6.