Two men, one from Clay County, convicted for transferring machinegun conversion devices

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A federal jury in Jacksonville has found Kristopher Justinboyer Ervin, 43, Orange Park, and Matthew Raymond Hoover, 39, Wisconsin, guilty of conspiring to transfer unregistered machinegun conversion devices that they referred to as “Auto Key Cards.”

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Action News Jax has been following this case, and others closely, that relate to converting semiauto firearms into full auto with switches and other devices.

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According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a traditional semiautomatic weapon shoots one round with one trigger pull. A machinegun is defined by the ATF as any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.

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According to United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg, Ervin was also convicted of seven counts of transferring unregistered machinegun conversion devices, three counts of possessing unregistered machinegun conversion devices, and one count of structuring cash transactions to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements. Hoover was also convicted of four counts of transferring unregistered machinegun conversion devices. Ervin faces a maximum penalty of 110 years in federal prison and Hoover faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in federal prison.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, in January 2021, Ervin’s bank contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to report that employees believed that Ervin was trafficking in machinegun conversion devices.

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A subsequent investigation revealed that Ervin was running an online business selling machinegun conversion devices, known as lightning links, etched into metal cards, which he referred to as “Auto Key Cards.” Ervin described the Auto Key Card as a “pen holder,” a “novelty,” and a “political sculpture.”

A lightning link can be dropped into an otherwise legal AR-15 type firearm, converting into a fully automatic machinegun.

In February 2021, federal agents from the ATF and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) surveilled Ervin and observed him dropping off dozens of packages at an Orange Park, Florida post office, each of which was determined to contain unregistered machinegun conversion devices.

The ATF examined the Auto Key Cards and a firearms enforcement officer was able to remove the pieces of a lightning link from an Auto Key Card using a common Dremel rotary tool in about 40 minutes. When the firearms enforcement officer placed the two pieces of the lightning link into an AR-15 type firearm, it converted the semi-automatic firearm to be fully automatic.

Hoover operated a YouTube channel called CRS Firearms on which he advertised Auto Key Cards. In his videos, Hoover stated that “laws only work if we follow them” and encouraged his viewers to use “discreet ordering” by mail to purchase Auto Key Cards. Hoover stated that his viewers could cut a lightning link out of the Auto Key Card, “drop it in your receiver, scratch your full auto itch, throw it away when you’re done” and “no one’s the wiser.”

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It’s estimated that with the help of Hoover’s video advertising, Ervin sold more than 2,000 Auto Key Cards in only a few months. Ervin compensated Hoover for his advertisements by sending cash through the mail.

In March 2021, federal agents executed a search warrant at Ervin’s home and recovered Auto Key Cards containing etchings for more than 1,500 lightning links.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jul. 31, 2023. Ervin was first charged on Mar. 2, 2021, and Hoover on Jan. 26, 2022. Both Ervin and Hoover have been in custody with the U.S. Marshals Service.

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This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.