A New Jersey man lied about his address when he purchased nine handguns in the Lehigh Valley, according to court records and a news release.

Kevin Elcock bought a total of 17 guns in Pennsylvania using the fake address between 2011 and 2018, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Priya T. De Souza.

The 33-year-old Newark man wasn’t charged for all 17 because the statute of limitations ran out for some of the charges and because of his cooperation with authorities, according to the memo.

The government recovered nine of the illegally purchased guns, the memo says. Elcock helped authorities recover eight of them, the memo says.

Elcock lied about his address when he bought the guns at stores in Williams Township: the Heritage Guild and Sarco Inc. Elcock attempted to buy three more guns in July 2018 but state police flagged his background check, the memo says.

The sentencing memo says Elcock got a post office box at the UPS Store on MacArthur Road in Whitehall, then lied and claimed it was the address of an apartment so he could obtain a Pennsylvania driver’s license. He used the license to make the illegal purchases, records say.

“He stated that he knew it was much easier to buy guns in Pennsylvania than it was in New Jersey, so he used the MacArthur Road address to purchase guns,” the sentencing memo says.

Elcock sold many of the guns to people with criminal histories who would otherwise not have been able to purchase weapons legally, records say. He told authorities he made anywhere from $150 to $600 per sale, records say.

Elcock was sentenced Tuesday to two and a half years in federal prison, according to a news release by U.S. Attorney’s office spokeswoman Jennifer Crandall. Elcock pleaded guilty to seven counts of making false statements to a federal firearms licensee. Each charge represents a date he made a purchase or tried to make a purchase.

Guidelines called for a sentence somewhere between three years and 10 months to four years and seven months in prison, but De Souza recommended a more lenient sentence due to Elcock’s help finding the missing guns and due to his immediate willingness to plead guilty.

The Heritage Guild is a gun range and retailer at 70 Hilton St. in Williams Township. Sarco bills itself on its website at “the world’s largest supplier of guns, gun parts and gun accessories.” Its store is at 10 Hilton St. in Williams Township.

Sarco Inc., a gun retailer, is at 50 Hilton St. in Williams Township.Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Online court documents say Elcock was charged for buying or attempting to buy these guns on these dates at these locations:

Dec. 27, 2016: Glock Model G27 .40 caliber pistol at the Heritage Guild.

Feb 5, 2018: Two Springfield Armory pistols at the Heritage Guild, a Model XDM .40 caliber and a Model XD45 .45 caliber.

March 3, 2018: Two Glock .40 caliber pistols at the Heritage Guild, a Model 23 and a Model G27.

April 5, 2018: Two 9mm pistols at the Heritage Guild, a Springfield Armory Model XDG and a Smith & Wesson Model M&P9 Shield.

April 5, 2018: Two handguns at Sarco Inc., a Glock Model 42 .380 caliber pistol and a Rock Island Armory Model M206 .38 caliber revolver.

July 21, 2018: A Smith & Wesson Model 642 .380 caliber pistol at the Heritage Guild. He never obtained the gun due to a successful background check.

July 31, 2018: Two .38 caliber revolvers at Tanners Sports Center in Jamison, Bucks County. A Smith & Wesson Model 442 PC and a Taurus Model 85. He never obtained the guns due to a successful background check.

Records say Elcock obtained the Whitehall P.O. box in September 2011, then bought eight guns illegally in Pennsylvania from November 2011 through July 2015. The sentencing memo doesn’t say where in Pennsylvania he purchased these eight guns.

He tried to buy two guns from an unspecified dealer on Feb. 10, 2018, but never came back to pick them up, the memo says.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl sentenced Elcock to prison followed by three years of supervised release. He must report to federal prison by Aug. 2, documents say.

Defense attorney Anthony R. Gualano didn’t immediately return an emailed message seeking comment.

“Federal laws for purchasing and owning firearms exist to protect public safety, and this defendant purposefully and arrogantly flouted those laws,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain in the news release. “Reducing violent crime by keeping illegal guns off of our streets is a top priority for the Department of Justice and my office.”

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.