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Matthew S. Meyers, a 41-year-old man from Machesney Park, Illinois, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to straw purchase five firearms in Winnebago County. Between 2022 and 2024, Meyers instructed another individual to buy guns on his behalf, knowing that the person would falsely claim to be the actual buyer. Meyers then sold or transferred some of the straw-purchased firearms to others.
The investigation, led by the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), found that Meyers made false statements to licensed firearms dealers to acquire the guns. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance in the case.
Meyers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide false and fictitious written statements to federally licensed dealers of firearms. On July 31, 2026, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the 60-month prison sentence during a hearing in federal court in Rockford.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Kim represented the government in the case.
