California Sues Operators of 3D Printed Ghost Gun Network — Seeks to Shut Down Blueprint Distribution

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu have filed a landmark civil lawsuit against the operators of a network distributing 3D printed ghost gun blueprints, seeking to permanently shut down their operations in the state.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, targets Gatalog Foundation Inc., CTRLPew LLC, and three individuals including Alexander Holladay and Matthew Larosiere — known advocates for 3D printed firearms — and John Elik (also known as "IvanTheTroll").

What the Defendants Are Accused Of

According to the complaint, the defendants operated two websites that distributed digital blueprints for more than 150 firearm and prohibited accessory designs. The sites offered these files free to download, requiring no license and accessible from California.

• The Gatalog — directed visitors to Odysee profiles hosting code files
• CTRLPew.com — provided beginner tutorials, printer and materials recommendations, and direct links to the files

The defendants also sold merchandise, accepted donations, and operated MAF Corp., which sold parts kits designed to complete whatever a user had printed.

Beyond handgun and rifle frames, the files included auto-sears (conversion devices that turn semi-automatic weapons into machineguns), large-capacity magazines, and silencers. One design — the CAG19 — was marketed specifically to Californians as a "California Compliant Glock 19-based Carbine kit," though the complaint notes printing it without a manufacturer’s license remains illegal regardless of labeling.

From Download to Deadly

To test the system, a California DOJ analyst logged on from a California IP address and downloaded files without obstacle. Using the FMDA DD19.2 Glock-style frame design, investigators ran three prints on a consumer-grade 3D printer, each taking about 7.5 hours. A Bureau of Firearms supervisor then followed the assembly instructions and, using commercially available parts, built a functional unserialized handgun in about one hour — bringing total time from download to working firearm to roughly 8.5 hours.

The DD19.2 design carries particular significance: a version of it was used in the November 2024 assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The Growing Ghost Gun Problem

The lawsuit lands against a backdrop of dramatically increasing ghost gun recoveries in California:

• Law enforcement recovered just 26 ghost guns in 2015
• By 2021-2025, that climbed to more than 11,000 per year
• California accounted for 55% of nearly 38,000 ghost gun traces to ATF (2017-2021)
• In San Francisco, ghost guns made up 44% of firearms recovered in homicides in 2020

What California Is Seeking

The state is asking the court to permanently enjoin the defendants from distributing digital firearm manufacturing code in California and from facilitating unlawful firearm manufacturing.

Penalties sought include:

• Up to $25,000 per violation of each of two Civil Code provisions
• $2,500 per violation of the Unfair Competition Law
• Disgorgement of all profits from the illegal activity
• Recovery of litigation costs

Parallel Legislative Front

The lawsuit arrives weeks before California’s Assembly Bill 2047 — which we covered earlier this week — proposes requiring all consumer 3D printers sold in the state to detect and block firearm blueprint files before printing. Manufacturers of non-compliant devices would face civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation.

Together, the lawsuit and legislation represent California’s most aggressive two-pronged approach to 3D printed firearms in the nation.