FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A Federal Way gun store and its former owner will pay $3 million for selling thousands of high-capacity magazines in violation of Washington state law, which took effect in July 2022, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.
Federal Way Discount Guns and former owner, Mohammed Baghai, agreed to pay the $3 million fine within 30 days. Of the fine, $1 million will be used to litigate the case and the remaining $2 million will be given to local law enforcement agencies for gun violence reduction efforts, according to Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
“Federal Way Discount Guns chose to violate a critical law aimed at combating mass shootings,” said Ferguson. “Washington businesses are following the law and stopped selling high-capacity magazines. This resolution provides accountability for someone who flagrantly violated the law and will increase law enforcement resources to combat gun violence.”
As of July 2022, the sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds is banned in the state. Importing, manufacturing and distributing high-capacity magazines are also outlawed.
Between July and December 2022, the gun store sold 3,625 high-capacity magazines, according to the attorney general’s office. The store continued selling the high-capacity magazines for another month after the lawsuit was filed and sold another 246 high-capacity magazines before Ferguson won a preliminary injunction, banning the store’s sales.
In April 2023, King County Superior Court Judge Wyman Yip ruled that Federal Way Discount Guns violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act. KING 5 has reached out to Federal Way Discount Guns for comment.
Baghai sold the store to his son, Andrew, and retired to Nevada since the lawsuit, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Tuesday’s consent decree bars the store from selling, offering for sale or facilitating the distribution of high-capacity magazines and resolves the case.
The Attorney General's Office conducted a series of investigations into gun retailers across Washington, including those in King, Pierce and Spokane counties, among others. The Federal Way Discount Guns lawsuit is Ferguson's first litigation to enforce the ban on high-capacity magazine sales.
