YourVoice.Now Summary
Criminal Justice & Due ProcessCivil LibertiesCorporate BenefitsTransparency & AccountabilityLets prosecutors add up a year of thefts to reach the $5,000 federal charging line, plus a new DHS theft center.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
Federal law already covers moving stolen goods worth $5,000 or more. The bill would let prosecutors add separate thefts over 12 months to reach that line. A run of smaller hauls could become one federal case.
One list of crimes makes judges take away the profits from a convicted thief. It now covers mostly stolen cars. The bill would add cargo theft and stolen-goods resale to it.
Cargo theft and stolen-goods resale would join the list of crimes that set off the money laundering law. Moving the cash from a theft could then be a second, separate charge.
The money laundering law lists what counts as money, such as cash, checks, and money orders. Section 3 would add gift cards, store cards, and general prepaid cards to that list.
Today a case usually rests on the goods crossing a state line. Section 3 would also let a case rest on using the internet, the phone, or the mail to move or sell them.
Section 3 widens the wording from stolen or fraud to also cover embezzled goods and goods taken by false pretense or other illegal means. That last phrase is broad and is not defined in the bill.
Civil Liberties
The center would run a secure system for trading theft information with stores and shipping firms. It would be built on systems the government already has. The bill does not limit what companies may send about individuals.
Federal law bars officials from giving out private business information. The center's director could set that bar aside when the work calls for it. No one else at the center could make that call.
Corporate Benefits
The center would build formal ties with stores and shipping firms. It would share threat reports and work with them on cases and theft prevention. It could also sign deals with private firms.
Transparency & Accountability
Most reports in this bill go only to congressional committees. This one is different: the center would have to publish what it finds about theft trends every year, for anyone to read.
The center's power would end seven years after it opens, and the department would have to wind it down. Congress would have to pass a new law to keep it running.
More about this bill
Most people would notice no direct change from this bill. It would not change prices, taxes, or store policies. The change would land on people who steal retail goods or cargo, or who resell them. Federal prosecutors would gain new tools to charge those cases. Stores and shipping firms would gain a federal partner in chasing theft rings. The bill would rewrite parts of the federal criminal code. Today, moving stolen goods across state lines is a federal crime at $5,000 or more. The bill would let prosecutors add up thefts over any 12-month period to reach that $5,000 line. It would also cover goods taken by trickery or by an employee. Selling stolen goods online could bring federal charges with no state line crossed. Judges would have to order the seizure of profits from these crimes. Money laundering charges could be stacked on top. Gift cards and prepaid cards would count as money under that laundering law. A new federal center would open inside the Homeland Security Department. It would have 90 days after the bill becomes law to start work. The center would tie together federal, state, local, and tribal theft cases. It would also build direct channels with stores and shipping firms to trade information. Once a year, it would publish a public report on theft trends. Its director could approve sharing business information that federal law usually keeps secret. The center would close after seven years unless Congress renews it.
Congressional Summary
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act This bill expands federal enforcement of criminal offenses related to organized retail and supply chain crime. The term organized retail and supply chain crime includes criminal offenses involving the interstate transportation of stolen property, the sale or receipt of stolen goods, or theft from an interstate or foreign shipment that is committed by, in coordination with, or at the instruction of an organization. First, with respect to criminal offenses involving the interstate transportation of stolen property or the sale or receipt of stolen goods, the bill broadens the scope of conduct that qualifies as offenses by allowing prosecutions to be based on the aggregate value of stolen items over a 12-month period. Additionally, the bill makes the offenses predicate offenses (i.e., underlying offenses) for prosecutions under the federal money laundering statute and authorizes the criminal forfeiture of any property obtained from the proceeds of an offense. Second, with respect to criminal offenses involving theft from an interstate or foreign shipment, the bill also makes an offense an underlying offense for prosecution under the federal money laundering statute and authorizes the criminal forfeiture of any associated property. Third, the bill expands the federal money laundering statute to include offenses involving general-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, or store gift cards. Finally, the bill temporarily establishes a center within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate federal law enforcement activities related to organized retail and supply chain crime.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-04-10
- Date Added
- 2026-05-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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