PORTLAND — An Auburn man denied Wednesday that he bought three guns — including two at an Auburn gun store — for other people.

Anthony Jones, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury last month on three counts of making a false statement during acquisition of a firearm from a licensed firearm dealer.

Each felony charge is punishable by 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Jones was indicted last fall and charged with the same three crimes, but in two of those counts, Jones was said to have been charged in connection with “the attempted acquisition” of a firearm from an Auburn gun shop, or that he only tried to buy guns there.

The superseding indictment clarifies that Jones was charged in connection with “the acquisition” of a firearm on all three counts, meaning he actually bought all three guns.

During the execution of a state search warrant in Malden, Massachusetts, in 2021, a gun was seized that was traced back to a purchase made in Maine seven months earlier by Jones, according to court documents.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives interviewed Jones twice in an effort to determine how the gun he bought ended up in Massachusetts, according to those documents.

Jones was arrested in Massachusetts last September after his first indictment on the three charges.

He was charged again on July 25 on the superseding indictment that clarified his actual purchase of all three guns.

He appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court in a tan jail suit, handcuffed and shackled, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Frink Wolf heard his pleas of “not guilty” to the three counts.

Jones has waived his right to a jury trial, which is tentatively set for September. If the case were to go to trial, a judge would decide his guilt.

In the indictment, Jones is accused of buying a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .40-caliber pistol on May 20, 2020, from a gun dealer in Kittery.

Jones “knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement” during the purchase that was “intended and likely to deceive” the salesperson when he answered, “Yes,” to the question: “Are you the actual buyer of the firearm(s) listed on this form?”

The form specifically warns that “You are not the actual buyer if you are acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person.”

The indictment goes on to say: “In fact, this statement was false because defendant intended to purchase the firearm for and/or on behalf of another person.”

Jones bought a second gun — an FNH model 503 9mm pistol — on July 22, 2020, this time from an Auburn gun dealer, according to the superseding indictment.

He answered, “Yes,” when asked if he was the “actual buyer.”

The indictment says, “In fact, this statement was false” because Jones intended to buy the gun for someone else.

Jones bought a third gun on March 30, 2021, this time a Smith & Wesson, model M&P 9, 9 mm pistol at the same Auburn gun shop as before, according to the superseding indictment.

Again, Jones answered, “Yes” on the form during purchase indicating he was the actual buyer when he, in fact, he was buying the gun for someone else, according to court documents.