BANGOR, Maine — A local man was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in connection with an alleged illegal handgun-purchasing scheme.
Hayri Berberoglu, 29, of Bangor is accused of helping straw purchasers buy 15 weapons in 2012 from the Brewer pawn shop where he worked.
Berberoglu is scheduled to arraigned April 27. He has not been arrested.
The indictment does not name the straw purchasers or the individuals for whom the guns were bought. It also does not state whether or how Berberoglu was compensated for his participation in the alleged conspiracy.
It is a federal crime for a person to buy a firearm for someone else.
Berberoglu was indicted on two counts of conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws and 15 counts of willful violation of federal firearms record-keeping laws.
He worked for Jimi’s Trading Post in Brewer when the guns allegedly were sold illegally, according to the indictment. People reportedly would come into the State Street pawn shop and falsely claim they were buying the guns for themselves.
Berberoglu knew the individuals were not the actual purchasers and falsified paperwork to say they were, the indictment says.
If convicted, Berberoglu faces up to fives years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.