Man Sentenced For Fake Federal IDs, Illegal Rifle In Waretown

TRENTON, NJ — A Waretown man was sentenced to prison for illegally possessing a privately manufactured short barrel rifle, a silencer and five imitation badges of various federal agencies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced Monday.

Jeffrey Backlund, 57, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, Sellinger said. Additionally, Backlund was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was fined $5,000, Sellinger said.

After investigating a domestic disturbance on Sept. 7, 2020, police executed a search warrant on Backlund's home, where they found "a number of rifles" and fake federal identification badges, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The rifles included a short-barreled, AR-style, .223 caliber rifle bearing no serial number and no branding, with a tan metal cylindrical device attached that was determined to be a silencer, according to police.

The rifle and silencer should have been registered in the National Firearms Register and Transfer Record, but the U.S. Attorney's office said that Backlund did not register them.

Two bi-fold wallets were also found, containing FBI Special Agent identification credentials bearing Backlund's picture and personal information, a United States Marshals Service badge, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent badge and a Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent badge, officials said.

"All badges and identifications were imitation and Backlund did not have the authority to possess any of them," the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Backlund pleaded guilty in April to the charges in Trenton federal court.