U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon – 01/23/24 4:30 PM
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Polk County, Oregon man pleaded guilty today in federal court to multiple charges stemming from his involvement in a scheme to ship export-controlled firearm components, ammunition, and stolen credit cards to multiple foreign countries, including Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
Alan Michael Placzkiewicz, 76, of Falls City, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count each of illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon and delaying or destroying mail.
According to court documents, throughout his involvement in the illegal smuggling scheme, Placzkiewicz operated as a mule, receiving packages containing various items, and as directed by others, shipping them to addresses overseas. Placzkiewicz participated in the scheme knowingly and continued participating after being warned by multiple government officials about his reshipping activity.
In October 2020, Placzkiewicz received two packages in the mail at his residence in Falls City and, following his usual course of action when receiving similar packages, opened them, sent pictures of the items they contained through a portal online, repackaged the items, and shipped them to foreign addresses. In this instance, the packages contained four AR-15-style assault rifle stocks and 1,300 rounds of 6.5mm 139 grain bullets. Placzkiewicz relabeled both packages, declared them as containing “camping gear,” and mailed them to an individual in Moscow, Russia. Both packages were intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Later, in January 2021, Placzkiewicz received a package containing a credit card issued by a bank to an individual without their knowledge. Placzkiewicz repackaged the card as “office supplies” and reshipped it.
On August 2, 2022, Placzkiewicz was charged by criminal complaint with fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, and conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud. Later, on May 2, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a seven-count indictment charging Placzkiewicz with conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, mail fraud, and unlawfully transferring, possessing, or using a means of identification.
Today, Placzkiewicz pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information, filed on November 15, 2023, charging him with illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon and delaying or destroying mail.
Illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years’ supervised release. Delaying or destroying mail is punishable by up to one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, and five years’ supervised release.
As part of his plea agreement, Placzkiewicz has agreed to pay more than $117,000 in restitution to his victims as recommended by the government and ordered by the court. He will be sentenced on April 16, 2024.
This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and CBP. It is being prosecuted by Rachel K. Sowray, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
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