An upstate New York man has stated that he has been able to exploit the state’s gun buyback program by 3D printing more than 100 small firearms and selling them “back” to the attorney general’s office to get $21,000.
Per Utica is a New York’s WKTV news station where a man who only identified himself as “Kem” to the media said that he came across the idea when he was on Twitter.
Kem told the news that he saw people tweeting jokingly about 3D printing guns to sell through the New York AG’s “Cash for Guns” program. The program assured residents that they could bring in firearms for cash. This got him to take his $200 3D printer out and get to work.
“I 3D-printed a bunch of lower receivers and frames for different kinds of firearms,” the man said, adding that he drove six hours to Utica to a gun buyback event being held at the city’s police department.
“I said, ‘110,’” he told WKTV. “And it ended with the guy and a lady from the budget office finally coming around with the 42 gift cards and counting them in front of me.”
Out of a total of $21,000, he claims to have gotten $500 in gift cards from the state.
“It’s shameful that this individual exploited a program that has successfully taken thousands of guns off the streets to protect our communities from gun violence,” the statement read, calling the man’s scam “greedy” and adding that the state has adjusted its gun buyback policies “to ensure that no one can exploit this program again for personal gain.”
3D printers have been speculated to e used for such purposes and cause harm but so far, the technology did not seem as promising.
Still, it is not even close to the level police and gun control thought it would be.