Update on Sabre Defense

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Bubbles

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Looks like employee theft, and theft of a firearm from an FFL is an offense that the ATF will investigate.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1001013&page=8

To end the speculation. I would be most grateful if you would post this on the AR15.com forum. We released this to the media yesterday in response to what was going on. I was in my office till 4 am working through this with the US facility and my lawyers.

Thanks

Guy Savage CEO
Sabre Defence Industries

NASHVILLE, Tenn., February 17, 2010 – Sabre Defence Industries LLC, an established manufacturer of firearms and weapon systems to the United States military, state and local law enforcement, and worldwide commercial markets, is fully cooperating with federal agents in an ongoing investigation into potential criminal misuse of certain non-saleable firearms produced by Sabre and purchased by some its employees. Sabre has received information that employee(s) involved in inventory control may have obtained and re-sold some items without appropriate licenses. Sabre is and has been cooperating with federal agents in this investigation.

Sabre has more than 120 employees in its Nashville plant. Sabre’s biggest customer is the United States military. Sabre products used by United States armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan include .50 caliber barrels and components of the M2 Browning machine gun, 7.62 mm mini-gun barrels, and M-16A3 and A4 rifles. Sabre is the only non-public company in the world ever to be awarded a contract for a military spec M-16 rifle. Sabre is dedicated to continuing to provide high quality firearms to the United States military, state and local law enforcement, and Sabre's commercial customers.
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Looks more like Sabre Defense employees buying B stock from their employer and then reselling them without their own FFL. I'm guessing BATFE will ultimately look at this as straw purchases by the employees. I don't imagine Sabre will see too much heat from it, unless the firearms in question were SBR and the taxes were not being paid at each step of the chain, or unless the company can be shown to have known the employees were reselling the firearms.
 
The article:

Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating claims that employees of a Nashville defense contractor have been illegally selling guns.

In a statement, Sabre Defence Industries said it was cooperating with the federal investigation into the possible criminal violation.

At its plant on Allied Drive in Nashville, the company manufactures firearms and weapons systems. Its products include components of M2 Browning machine guns and M-16 rifles.

The company said it had learned that some of its employees involved in inventory control “may have obtained and re-sold some items without appropriate licenses.” The company did not say which firearms were involved.

Sabre sells to law enforcement agencies and commercial markets, but its biggest customer is the U.S. military. The company has more than 120 employees in Nashville.

ATF Supervisor Special Agent Eric Kehn confirmed that the agency was investigating Sabre but would not go into detail. Agents searched the plant on Wednesday.
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Bold text by me.
That statement almost stirs the notion that Sabre might have dropped the dime on a few of its own employees.
 
So much for the "The Obama Administration is targeting AR-15 makers and shutting them down illegally" crowd.
 
I seriously doubt anyone took a serial numbered item out of the plant and sold it. Wayyy too easy to get caught. Why do I get the suspicion that an employee took a mere barrel from the company, or slipped out with some M16 fire control parts, and is about to get nailed for "constructive possession" b.s. or "unregistered ___" b.s. instead of just getting charged with petty theft? You don't need a "license" to possess or sell parts that MIGHT go for something in the NFA. If the employee put the stolen parts together into something NFA-ish when he got home, then the raid on Sabre, and the search of all employees makes no sense other than heavy handed "government" thugism. Theft should be treated like theft, not a federal crime (which from the federal government's perspective means making war with the federal government). If Sabre ratted out an employee to the freaking feds, instead of just dealing with the theft issue, then that is low.
 
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If Sabre ratted out an employee to the freaking feds, instead of just dealing with the theft issue, then that is low.
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I think an employer is WELL within their rights to allow the law to handle issues like this. Why should a thief be fired or disciplined internally and not prosecuted as a theif? If someone steals, they deserve the record that comes with it, so future employers can see the person isn't to be trusted. I have zero patience for thieves and/or liars, and no, I don't think a thief should be given ANY breaks. If you get caught stealing, you should be prosecuted as a thief. I don't think it was at all shady of Sabre to rat the theives out, if they even played a part in doing so. Why should a common theif be treated like anything other than a theif? If they were worried about consequences for their actions, maybe they should have thought about that before grossly violating their employer's trust?


AS far as it being a barrel or other non-serialed part, thats ENTIRELY speculation at this point, and theres NO PROOF whatsoever thatthe feds are attempting to charge anyone with offenses that don't fit the crimes (allegedly) committed. While its fine to have an opinion on issues, I question the logic of people always assuming the absolute worsrt when few actual facts are available. Personally, I like to have a reasonable amount of fact before I start wildly speculationg on what happened, what may happen, etc, and why. I ahgve many opinions of my won on various issues, but most are based on my interpretation of the facts availble, and not a "gut feeling" or an assumption that simply because it involves the ATF, that theres automatically doubt cast on the integrity of the operation.
 
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Dave it's not that we're just blindly "assuming the worst." We know from hard facts, history, precedent, and experience that BATFE agents will lie, cheat, go overboard, abuse their power, invent new powers, bully, and steal in order to keep and expand their power (especially if funding is threatened). We know from experience that people get prosecuted for federal "crimes" when they haven't violated any legitimate federal law, and sometimes when they haven't even violated the federal laws that are unconstitutional.
 
Still, I refuse to judge or make assumptions about a case I have very little knowledge about, regardless of who is involeved in the investigation. If theres wrongdoing, I'll be the first to condemn it, but I'm not going to simply operate on the assumption that the case is corrupted from the getgo simply because the ATF is involved, either. Like I said, when the FACTS regarding this come out, we may (or may not) have somehting to debate or attack the atf for. At this point though, you're jumping the gun so to speak, and acting on nothing but assumptions regarding THIS CASE. You may have previous gripes with the ATF, and few of us agree with everything they do. However, until you can point to facts supporting the idea there was corruption and or malice involved in THIS case, opinions and assumptions are all you have to offer in support of your idea that this is some sort of set-up to prosecute people for crimes beyond those they have actually committed. When you have PROOF of that, we have something to talk about (potentially). Right now though," assumption" seems to be the word of the day as it applies to this case
 
Dave it's not that we're just blindly "assuming the worst."


true. you are laboring on despite the raided company letting you know how misguided you are
 
I thought they were sold to the employees, not lost or stolen.

...misuse of certain non-saleable firearms produced by Sabre and purchased by some its employees.
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Either purchased or "obtained" (whatever that will eventually mean).
 
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