State of Minnesota awarded settlement with Fleet Farm over straw purchases

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The state of Minnesota will be getting a one million dollar settlement over its lawsuit with Fleet Farm.

The suit began in 2022 and deals with claims the hardware company allowed guns to be sold to people who then give or sell it to another person, referred to as a straw purchase.

Along with the million dollars, the settlement also includes policy changes Fleet Farm will take to help lessen the amount of straw purchases at the store.

The new policies include: Improved training and updated dicipline policies for Fleet Farm employees who sell firearms, including regular, unannounced compliance.

Fleet Farm will also get new software that lets employees to track firearm sales across different Fleet Farm stores, and a new trace request monitoring system to alert employees about sales to persons linked to previously recovered crime guns.

As part of the settlement, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also be able to make public internal Fleet Farm documents that his office obtained in discovery and used in depositions and in court.

Ellison’s office says the documents include warnings a store manager raised about straw sales, which Fleet Farm ignored.