Apparently this operation is exceptionally incompetent/criminal to be singled out in such a manner.
NNot necessarily, it is possible, but can be who the auditor was. Some are pleasant and reasonable and some are the opposite. There is almost no oversight of the ATF. I was hoping it would get better with them moved from the IRS to the Justice Dept. All a FFL has to do is piss off an auditor.
Also refusal of informant / entrapment / undercover cooperation can result in this type of harassment. The West Coast ATF office is known for grandstanding and entrapment type operations. They have had their methods called to question in L.A., Reno and Las Vegas. I have personally watched them try to get gun show dealers to make straw sales and not fill out paperwork at the ‘Vegas gun shows.
One of their famous “raids” was on an importer in Los Angeles several years ago. They made a huge show of confiscating “machine guns” from the importer and hauled way tractor-trailer loads of “contraband” right before ATF’s Congressional budget hearings… two weeks later they returned the entire inventory quietly.
That is who you are dealing with…