ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida man has been sentenced to federal prison for concealing firearms, parts, and ammunition in fake shipping manifests to smuggle internationally.
Chrissie Fier Williams, 39, of Kissimmee, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison after pleading guilty on Jan. 2, 2024.
According to court documents, on five separate occasions from Jan. 28, 2021, through Oct. 4, 2022, Williams prepared packages with household items to be sent to Trinidad and Tobago. Williams concealed numerous firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition inside those packages, prepared fake shipping manifests to conceal the contents, and paid “straw shippers” to deliver the packages under their names. Inside these packages, Williams concealed completed pistols and AR-style rifles, parts that could be readily assembled into completed guns, extended magazines including a 65-round drum magazine and a 100-round drum magazine, and ammunition to match the firearms being smuggled.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana E. Hill.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.