Convicted securities fraud exec may get gun rights back

By Chris Eger

Reyes was indicted in 2006 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and, since compeleting an 18 month sentence in federal prison in 2011, was told that his history of being convicted bars him from a legal firearm sale (Photo: SEC)
A federal judge has sided with the former CEO of a tech company who argues a ban on felons possessing guns should not apply to his white-collar crime.
Gregory Reyes, the first person convicted for fraudulent backdating corporate stock options, was convicted of violations of the Securities Exchange Act in 2010 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In 2017, he challenged the resulting ban on legal firearms possession that stemmed from the conviction, arguing the prohibition over his business-related crimes is not required by the law, and last week a judge in a District of Columbia federal court agreed.
Under federal law, those found guilty of non-domestic violence-related crimes punishable by imprisonment for over a year can lose their gun rights. However, pointing out that the Securities Exchange Act “was primarily intended to prevent economic harm to investors” in the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates said in a memo on Friday that Reyes’

Source: Guns.com