FORT SMITH, Ark — A Fort Smith man who pleaded guilty to gun, tax, and fraud charges —while also facing separate gun charges— now knows how long he's going to spend behind bars.
On June 20, 2024, 32-year-old Neil Mehta was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, with three years of supervised release under three charges:
- Possession of an Unregistered Firearm that was a Destructive Device
- Fraud and False Statements Related to Tax Returns
- False Declaration Before a Court
In January 2023, the FBI and other federal agents reportedly executed a search warrant on Mehta's Fort Smith home and seized over 3,000 guns as Mehta fled. He lied to a neighbor to get a ride and then was helped by his family to evade law enforcement before being arrested by U.S. Marshals in Austin, Texas a month later.
Mehta originally pleaded not guilty on March 9, 2023, and his first trial date was set for April 3 before being pushed back to July 17, and then again to October 30 so that lawyers could have "adequate time to conduct discovery," according to a judge.
In October 2023, Mehta's trial was canceled after he changed his plea to guilty.
Mehta was also sentenced to pay over $660,000 in dues and forfeit all 3,185 firearms that were seized in the original search warrant.
Of the 3,185 seized guns, around 2,000 were unmarked, an amount the judge said he believed had to be drug-related.
According to the Department of Justice, in a separate case, a company owned by Mehta, Federal Armament LLC, was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $500K fine under the following counts:
- Unlawfully Importation and Receipt of Firearms
- Filing False or Misleading Electronic Export Information
The DOJ also confirmed that Federal Armaments LLC was ordered to forfeit the illegally exported firearms.
Mehta was heard saying "I’m sorry for my actions, I’ve never been violent, and I’m not a criminal at heart … My actions have devastated my mom and dad … 17 months in county jail really humbled me," during the court proceedings.
"As to the tax charge, Mehta substantially underreported his income by failing to report millions of dollars of business activities for Federal Armament LLC, which engaged in the manufacturing and selling of ammunition, firearms, and other related items," the DOJ said.
In a separate case, Federal Armament LLC, a company owned by Mehta, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $500,000 fine, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas (WDAR).
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.