Date: December 22, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov San Juan, Puerto Rico — A federal jury convicted Rafael "Raphy" Pina-Nieves today for firearms violations being a convicted felon and possession of a machinegun. The sentencing was scheduled for April 1st, 2022. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Pina-Nieves knowing that he had been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, knowingly possessed: one Glock pistol, Model 19, 9mm caliber; one Smith & Wesson, Model SD40, .40 caliber, and 526 total rounds of live ammunition, including 148 rounds of .40 caliber handgun ammunition, 123 rounds of .357 caliber handgun ammunition, 3 rounds of .45 caliber handgun ammunition, 170 rounds of .25 caliber handgun ammunition, 3 rounds of 5.7 caliber handgun ammunition, 35 rounds of 7.62 caliber rifle ammunition, 18 rounds of 7.92 caliber rifle ammunition, 1 round of 12 gauge shotgun ammunition, and 25 rounds of 9mm caliber handgun ammunition. The Glock pistol, Model 19, 9mm caliber possessed by Pina-Nieves was a machine gun, as it was modified to shoot more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico and Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI made the announcement. The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were in charge of the investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys María L. Montañez-Concepción and José Ruiz-Santiago prosecuted the case.
