Illegal Alien Sentenced to Over Two Years in Prison for Selling Firearms Without a License

BOSTON - A Salvadoran national unlawfully residing in Chelsea was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for making multiple illegal firearms sales.

Melbi Ovidio Ortez, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence.

In February 2026, Ortez pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. In June 2025, Ortez was arrested and charged.

Ortez was identified as an 18th Street Gang associate who supplied firearms and controlled substances to gang members. On four different occasions between April 3, 2025 and May 2, 2025, Ortez sold firearms and ammunition behind his Chelsea residence. Ortez sold a Glock 9mm caliber pistol; a Sturm and Ruger .22 caliber revolver; a Glock .40 caliber pistol; a Colt .380 caliber pistol; magazines; and over 100 rounds of ammunition. In addition, the serial numbers on both the Glock 9mm pistol and the Colt .380 pistol had been defaced. TheGlock 9mm pistol had been purchased only 20 days earlier from a licensed firearms dealer in New Hampshire. Ortez also sold cocaine two times during that same period.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket and Revere Police Departments; Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Fraud Detection and National Security Unit; Massachusetts Department of Correction; and the Suffolk County and Middlesex County District Attorney's Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecutedthe case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.