CEDAR RAPIDS — A Waterloo man who used machining equipment to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison.
Nicholas Laurence Wilson, 35, of Waterloo, was sentenced August 20 to 12 months and one day in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of possession of machine guns.
Federal prosecutors said Wilson machined three semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons inside his home.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began investigating Wilson after several firearms he had purchased were recovered during unrelated criminal investigations.
ATF agents searched Wilson’s Waterloo home on July 16, 2025, where investigators said they discovered three machine guns along with a machine gun conversion device known as a drop-in auto sear.
Prosecutors said Wilson initially lied to investigators and claimed he did not have any firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act inside the residence. Machine guns are among the weapons covered by that federal law.
Wilson pleaded guilty January 30, 2026.
Chief U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Wilson in federal court in Cedar Rapids to 12 months and one day behind bars.
Wilson was also fined $5,000 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
There is no parole in the federal prison system.
Wilson was allowed to remain free under his previously established bond conditions and has been ordered to surrender to the United States Marshal on September 21, 2026, to begin serving his sentence.
Federal officials said the prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative targeting violent crime, cartels, transnational criminal organizations and illegal immigration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyndra Lundquist prosecuted the case.
The investigation was conducted by a federal task force consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, FBI and ATF, with assistance from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.