Man Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years for Selling Machinegun Conversion Devices

Yusef D. Hairston was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months for illegally importing and selling over 200 machinegun conversion devices.Photo byThomas TuckeronUnsplash

A Flint, Michigan, man was sentenced today to 4 years and 9 months in federal prison for illegally importing and selling machinegun conversion devices, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced.

Yusef D. Hairston, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Shalina D. Kumar following his guilty plea to illegal possession and transfer of a machinegun on June 5, 2024, the departent stated.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, machinegun conversion devices are tools that, when attached to semi-automatic firearms, convert them into fully automatic machineguns.

Court documents show that from late 2022 into 2023, undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) purchased narcotics, firearms, and machinegun conversion devices from an individual named Dequan Hawkins.

Hawkins later introduced the undercover agents to Hairston, identifying him as the source of the conversion devices. Over the following months, Hairston sold more than 60 of these devices to the agents, the department states.

The U.S. Attorney's Office further reported that Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted two shipments from China containing over 100 machinegun conversion devices destined for Hairston.

In total, Hairston was held responsible for the possession, importation, and sale of more than 200 machinegun conversion devices, the ATF says.

“Machinegun conversion devices pose a serious threat to our community’s safety and security. To be clear, these devices are NOT firearm accessories and are machineguns under federal law.” said ATF Detroit Field Division Special Agent in Charge James Deir.

“Mr. Hairston made a choice to possess and profit from illegally modified firearms. In the end, I urge every Michigander contemplating experimenting with a machinegun conversion device to think twice about the serious consequences associated with this choice.”