Columbia Man Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaint for Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud, and Possession of Machine Gun Violations

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Peter M. McCoy, Jr., announced today that Edward Daniel Kimpton, Jr., 25, of Columbia, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint and charged with federal wire fraud, mail fraud, and possession of machine gun violations.

Kimpton had his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Paige Jones Gossett, where he waived a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing.  At this time, he remains in custody.

According to the complaint, Kimpton engaged in a sophisticated fraud scheme in which he fraudulently obtained high value firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories from confirmed and likely victims in Arizona, California, Florida, Washington, Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina.  During the execution of federal search warrants on April 28, 2020, Kimpton was found to have approximately 90 firearms, including semi-automatic and tactical firearms, more than 23,000 rounds of ammunition, five bump stocks, firearm scopes, tactical helmets, tactical gear, gas masks and gas mask filters, and body armor.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), who brought the federal criminal complaint, and the United States Secret Service (USSS), who have been assisted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Lexington County Sherriff’s Office, Columbia Police Department, Cayce Police Department, and Batesburg-Leesville Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elliott B. Daniels of the Columbia Office and Assistant United States Attorney Carrie Fisher Sherard of the Greenville Office.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

U.S. Attorney McCoy stated that all charges in this case are merely allegations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.