Springfield Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing Firearms and Filing False Tax Return

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to unlawfully possessing firearms and filing a false tax return.

Marco Lorimer Denis, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm, and one count of filing a false tax return.

At the time of the offenses, Denis was the owner of Springfield Property LLC, a company providing retail and commercial rental space, including at Plaza Towers in Springfield.

As part of his plea, Denis admitted to knowingly possessing firearms when he had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Denis pleaded guilty in 2003 to misdemeanor domestic assault in the Greene County, Mo., Circuit Court. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to be in possession of a firearm.

In December 2012, Denis attempted to purchase a firearm from a federal firearm licensee. His purchase was immediately denied after a background check, resulting in the federal firearm licensee refusing to transfer the firearm to Denis.

On July 15 and 16, 2024, as part of a domestic violence investigation, officers with the Springfield Police Department executed search warrants at Denis’s residence and located 8 firearms in his residence and in the driver’s side door panel of his vehicle.

Denis also admitted to filing a false tax return for the calendar year 2023. Denis’s 2023 tax return, which was filed in March 2025, did not include $57,391.06 of income he received in the course of operating Springfield Property, LLC. The IRS tax loss associated with Denis’s unreported income is $24,749.

Under federal statutes, Denis is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole and a fine of up to $250,000 for unlawfully possessing firearms; and a sentence of up to 3 years in federal prison without parole and a fine of up to $250,000, and an order of restitution, for filing a false tax return. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie L. Wan and Casey Clark. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and IRS-Criminal Investigation.