Northern Iowa woman gets federal prison after lying during gun purchases; one weapon later found with felon boyfriend

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Northern Iowa woman who bought four guns over six months and lied on federal paperwork about her drug use has been sentenced to federal prison, prosecutors said.

Sydnie Mahoney, 28, of Waterloo, was sentenced June 17, 2026, to 12 months and one day in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

Federal prosecutors said Mahoney bought four guns on four separate occasions from a Cedar Falls gun dealer between March 2023 and September 2023. During each purchase, Mahoney signed paperwork stating she was not an unlawful user of controlled substances, including marijuana.

Authorities said Mahoney was using marijuana at the time of each purchase.

Prosecutors said Mahoney was accompanied during two of the purchases by her boyfriend, Torion Byrd.

The case later grew more serious when police found Byrd driving a car with another man who was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant. Officers searched the vehicle and found one of the guns Mahoney had purchased in the glove box.

Byrd’s DNA was found on the gun, which had an extended magazine, prosecutors said. Byrd was a convicted felon and was not legally allowed to possess firearms. He was later sentenced to more than three years in federal prison.

Mahoney was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. In addition to her prison term, she must serve three years of supervised release after leaving prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

Mahoney was released on her previously set bond and ordered to surrender to the United States Marshal on July 20, 2026.

Federal officials said the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a federal task force made up of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.

The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative targeting violent crime, illegal immigration, cartels and transnational criminal organizations.