Cincinnati man sentenced for buying 56 guns with stolen credit cards

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A Cincinnati man has been sentenced for buying 56 firearms online with stolen credit cards.

Zephaniah Jones, 21, was sentenced by a federal judge to six years in prison on charges of conspiring to make false statements on federal firearms forms, aggravated identity theft and making false statements to the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth L. Parker.

Parker said Jones and others attempted to place orders online for firearms from April 2022 to July 2022. They filed orders for 56 guns and obtained 37.

Jones made more than $15,000 in purchases on credit cards belonging to three people from June 2022 to July 2022. He purchased 14 Glock pistols, 11 FN Five-Seven pistols and six FN 509 pistols. Some of the guns were traced to crimes shortly after they were purchased by Jones, including one pistol that was fired into a residence in Columbus 15 days after it was bought.

In February 2020, Jones submitted a fraudulent application for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, falsely claiming he owned a business called Jones Lawncare LLC. He was awarded $21,000 which was later forgiven by the federal government.

Five other co-conspirators have also been federally charged.

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