Attleboro Man Charged with Trafficking Firearms to Massachuseetts

BOSTON – An Attleboro man has been charged in federal court in Boston in connection with firearms trafficking.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling's Office says 40-year-old Richard Philippe was charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition. Federal authorities arrested Philippe on July 5 on separate charges and has been in custody since.

According to the charging documents, an individual who purchased large quantities of handguns in Georgia had been selling handguns to Philippe, who then transported the guns back to Massachusetts to sell. Philippe was not a Federal Firearm Licensee and was not permitted to deal firearms. Furthermore, Philippe has a prior felony firearm conviction and is not permitted to possess any firearm or ammunition. It is alleged that the individual in Georgia sold more than 100 firearms to Philippe between April and June 2019.

On July 5, federal agents executed a search warrant at a warehouse in Taunton used by Philippe and located 144 rounds of ammunition and empty firearm boxes with labels tying them to firearms that had been purchased by the individual in Georgia.

The charge of possessing ammunition after being convicted of a felony carries a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and Brockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.