B.C. man gets prison sentence, fine for using fake names to buy guns in the U.S.

U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich makes an announcement in Helena, Montana, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (Thom Bridge / AP - Independent Record / The Canadian Press)

A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

A statement from the United States Attorney's Office in Montana says Haptei John Kozak pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of making false statements during a firearms transaction.

Judge Donald Molloy also imposed a $10,000 fine and three years of supervised release, along with ordering that Kozak forfeit 12 firearms.

U.S. attorney Jesse Laslovich says in the statement that black-market firearm smugglers like Kozak contribute to an "epidemic of gun violence nationally and internationally because these weapons often end up in the hands of criminals."

The statement says investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the RCMP found that Kozak used a fake Montana driver's licence and provided other false information to buy 12 firearms in different Montana cities last year.

It says a review of Kozak's text messages and other evidence indicated that he was planning to buy the weapons to sell back in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.