U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Arrested and Charged with Arms Export Control Act Violations, Smuggling Firearms Parts, Firearms Trafficking, Possession of Machineguns, Unlawful[...]

NASHVILLE - Frank Ross Talbert, 40, a Lieutenant Colonel with U.S. Army Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) assigned to Fort Campbell, is facing federal criminal charges after law enforcement officers conducted an investigation and executed multiple search warrants uncovering evidence that Talbert unlawfully imported firearms parts from Russia, China, and other countries, unlawfully dealt in firearms without a federal firearms license, and committed multiple firearms violations related to the possession of machineguns, announced Henry C. Leventis, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Talbert was arrested today on a twenty-one count federal indictment charging him with eight counts of importing defense articles without a license, eight counts of smuggling firearms parts into the United States, one count of firearms trafficking, two counts of possession of unregistered machineguns, one count of transporting a machinegun without a license and one count of dealing in firearms without a license.

If convicted, Talbert faces a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment and a fine up to $1,000,000.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Bowling Green Field Office; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Homeland Security Investigations; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Field Office, Nashville Resident Agency; and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Farzad is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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