--- title: "Man 3D Prints 110 Guns, Sells Them to Buyback Program for $21,000" description: "One man claims he was able to exploit a gun buyback program by 3D printing more than 100 guns and selling them to his state's attorney general's office." date: "2022-09-29" modified: "2022-09-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/3d-printed-guns-buyback-new-york" categories: - "3D Printing" - "Future Materials" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "3d printed guns" - "3d printing" - "firearms" - "the digest" --- # Man 3D Prints 110 Guns, Sells Them to Buyback Program for $21,000 ![One man claims he was able to exploit a gun buyback program by 3D printing more than 100 guns and selling them to his state's attorney general's office.]() *\Image: Jacob Boavista / Futurism\* ## Jackpot An upstate New York man claims he was able to exploit the state's gun buyback program by 3D printing more than 100 small firearms and selling them "back" to the attorney general's office to the tune of $21,000. Per Utica, New York's [*WKTV* news station](), a man who only identified himself as "Kem" to media said the idea dawned on him when scrolling on β€” where else β€” Twitter. Kem told the local news affiliate that he'd seen people tweeting, perhaps jokingly, about 3D printing guns to sell via the New York AG's "[Cash for Guns]()" program, which promised residents that they could trade in firearms for cold, hard cash. It inspired him to pull out the $200 3D printer he'd gotten for Christmas and get to printing. "I 3D-printed a bunch of lower receivers and frames for different kinds of firearms," he man said, adding that he drove six hours to Utica to gun buyback event being held at the city's police department. When someone at the event saw Kem toting a bag full of guns, they asked him how he had. "I said, '110,'" he told *WKTV*. "And it ended with the guy and a lady from the budget office finally coming around with the 42 gift cards and counting them in front of me." ## They Mad In total, Kem said he received $21,000, all of which he claims was given to him "in $500 gift cards" by the state. A statement from the state AG's office to the Utica news outlet seems to corroborate Kem's story. "It’s shameful that this individual exploited a program that has successfully taken thousands of guns off the streets to protect our communities from gun violence," the statement read, calling the man's scam "greedy" and adding that the state has adjusted its gun buyback policies "to ensure that no one can exploit this program again for personal gain." While [3D printers' ability to make firearms]() has long been a source of concern, they have for the most part stayed out of the news as the technology [failed to be the revolutionary sort of hardware]() it promised to be. That said, this Kem person definitely did use his cheapo consumer 3D printer to make guns and use them for arguably nefarious purposes β€” though in actuality, it was far from the sort gun control advocates were initially worried about. **More on next-gen weaponry:** [*Drama Engulfs Plan to Zap School Shooters With Taser-Toting Drones*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()