A 20-year-old Central Florida man was sentenced for possessing machineguns and dealing in unlicensed firearms.
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton sentenced 20-year-old Jamal Joseph Mala Leonardo, of Kissimmee, to 30 months in federal prison for possession or transfer of a machinegun and dealing in firearms without a license. The court also ordered Mala Leonardo to forfeit several machinegun conversion devices involved in the offense.
According to court documents, Leonardo met with an undercover law enforcement officer (UC) on multiple occasions between January and February 2024.
During those meetings, Mala Leonardo sold the UC 17 machinegun conversion devices (MCDs) which can be used to convert a firearm into a fully automatic machinegun. Mala Leonardo also sold the UC two AR pistols, including one which was privately manufactured.
Law enforcement officers later searched Mala Leonardo’s residence and recovered 25 additional MCDs from his bedroom. None of the MCDs were registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required under federal law, nor is Mala Leonardo a licensed firearms dealer.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard Varadan and Kara Wick. Mala Leonardo entered a guilty plea on May 20, 2024.
This Central Florida machineguns case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on the core principles of fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
