Brazilian national sentenced to prison after investigation led to seizure of 110 firearms primarily trafficked from Florida, South Carolina, into Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Brazilian national was sentenced in federal court in Boston for selling 11 firearms, including one equipped with a large capacity magazine and another with an obliterated serial number.

According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 32-year-old Guilherme Fernandes-Tavares was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris to four years in prison. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In November 2025, Fernandes-Tavares pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license. Fernandes-Tavares was arrested in May 2024 in an unrelated state case. Fernandes-Tavares was charged in federal court by criminal complaint in March 2025 and subsequently indicted in July 2025.

Between January and May 2024, Fernandes-Tavares sold firearms in Eastern Massachusetts. Specifically, on March 27, 2024, Fernandes-Tavares sold a pistol with a high-capacity magazine capable of holding 29 rounds. On May 7, 2024, Fernandes-Tavares sold a pistol with an obliterated serial number. When asked about the serial number, Fernandes-Tavares told a cooperating witness that Fernandes-Tavares’ source of the firearm required him to obliterate the serial number. In addition, Fernandes-Tavares sold nine other firearms to the cooperating witness during this time period.

To date, approximately 110 firearms, trafficking quantities of fentanyl and ammunition have been seized over the course of the investigation which began in 2024. The firearms allegedly recovered include, but are not limited to, handguns, rifles, short-barreled rifles and shotguns that were primarily trafficked from areas in Florida and South Carolina into Massachusetts.

The investigation led to eighteen Brazilian nationals being charged.

United States Attorney Leah Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and David Wesling, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.