GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Plainwell man could spend up to 30 years in prison for illegally exporting weapons to Europe.
Benjamin James Cance pleaded guilty to federal charges of international arms trafficking and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan.
Cance conducted sales illegally on the internet and shipped weapons to Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, officials said. He was paid with electronic currencies like Bitcoin in an attempt to hide the exchanges, according to a release.
As part of the plea deal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is dropping a third charge of machine gun possession.
Cance will be sentenced at a later date.
