Wausau Woman Charged with False Statement During Purchase of Firearms

MADISON, WIS. – A Wausau, Wisconsin woman is charged with making a false statement during the purchase of firearms in an indictment returned on May 11, 2022, by a federal grand jury sitting in Madison.  The charges are announced by Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.

The indictment charges Ashley Zastrow, 31, with making a false statement on a Firearms Transaction Record form required by federal law during the purchase of two firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer on January 13, 2022.  The indictment alleges that she indicated on the form she was the actual buyer of the firearms, but in fact she was not the actual buyer.  Making such a false statement during the purchase of a firearm is commonly known as a “straw purchase.”

The indictment was unsealed following Zastrow’s arrest on Friday, August 5, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, by the Marshfield Police Department.  She was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Madison yesterday and remains in federal custody.  The trial in this matter has been set for December 5, 2022, before U.S. District Judge William M. Conley.

If convicted, Zastrow faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison.  The charge against her is the result of an investigation by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Merrill Police Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance the Marshfield Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Kraus is handling the prosecution. 

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.