A federal district judge Thursday handed down the sentence for 48-year-old Manuel Tijerina-Herrera, who will also have three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors said Tijerina-Herrera, owner of Klub Infinity and a restaurant called El Tiburon in McAllen, paid at least five other people to buy guns.
His conviction in September included three counts of aiding and abetting the making of false statements on a gun buyer form and two counts conspiracy to make false statements on that form.
So-called "straw purchases" are commonly used to get weapons to Mexico's violent drug cartels.
