I’m confused. What did he actually do?
It's always hard to tell from these poorly written articles.
From what I read the real charge that might stick is that he (and others) were making an illegal "straw purchese" of a firearm.
A firearm "straw purchase" is when one person acts as an agent to buy a gun for another person with the intent of hiding the identity of the final owner.
Gifts are supposedly excluded.