Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Brazilian national living unlawfully in Massachusetts has been sentenced for selling firearms without a license. Lucas Henrique Moreira DePaiva, aged 22, received an 18-month prison sentence and two years of supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin on July 22, 2024. He faces deportation following the completion of his sentence.
In April 2025, Moreira DePaiva pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license. Between February 28 and September 17, 2024, he sold 15 firearms over ten occasions in exchange for cash. He also sold ammunition and magazines during this period and conspired with another individual to sell one firearm in February 2024.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Bryan DiGirolamo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director for Boston at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. The Massachusetts State Police along with Weymouth and Malden Police Departments provided valuable assistance in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds from the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted.
