Posted on 07/27/2023 10:40:15 AM PDT by lowbridge
A California family that earned millions of dollars just by recycling cans and bottles has now been accused of multiple felonies that could lead to years behind bars.
In a felony complaint filed this month, state prosecutors charged eight family members in Riverside County with defrauding the state by importing used bottles and cans from Arizona — some 178 tons in 8 months — and recycling them in California.
The recycling operation earned the family $7.6 million, according to a statement from the office of California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta. Investigators also found a stash of "illegally imported beverage containers" worth another $1 million.
When someone purchases a plastic or aluminum bottle in California, they typically pay an extra 5 to 10 cents in "California Redemption Value," or CRV, which the consumer can get back by returning the items to one of the state's more than 1,200 recycling centers. Arizona has no such program.
"California's recycling program is funded by consumers, and helps protect our environment and our communities," Bonta said. "Those who try to undermine its integrity through criminal operations will be held accountable."
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors accused family members of unlawfully conspiring to commit grand theft and defrauding the California recycling program on a "chronic and ongoing basis" by seeking reimbursement for out-of-state containers and containers that had already been redeemed within California.
Felony grand theft in California is punishable by up to three years in state prison. Redeeming out-of-state containers to the degree the family is accused could increase the sentence by another three years.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Well, at least with $7.6 million they should be able to hire a good lawyer to fight this.
Make California prove each and every can/bottle they accuse them of fraud over was not purchased in California.
I remember one case where freeloading food stamp recipients we’re buying bottled water with their food stamps, dumping it out and returning the bottles for money to buy cigarettes. The welfare office didn’t have a problem with that.
Millions upon millions of illegals, THIS is a priority... 🙄🙄🙄
The recycling operation earned the family $7.6 million,
from an article describing a previous attempt to circumvent the opportunity based on an episode from “Seinfeld”
NEWS
Flint man pleads guilty to ‘Seinfeld’-esque bottle return scheme
70-year-old returned more than $10,000 worth of cans from Indiana to take advantage of Michigan’s refund law on deposits
Brian ManzulloDetroit Free Press
A Michigan deposit is shown stamped on a beverage in Detroit, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013.
Newman and Kramer would be proud. (Well, maybe.)
A 70-year-old Flint man, John Custer Woodfill, has pleaded guilty Monday to returning more than $10,000 worth of out-of-state, non-returnable beverage containers, according to a statement from the office of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
It was discovered that, from 2012-15, Woodfill was buying uncrushed, non-returnable cans in Indiana as scrap, then returning them to Michigan to redeem the 10-cents-per-can deposit refund with the help of a partner who’s now deceased.
The partner would purchase local, non-refundable soda and beer cans for 60-80 cents per pound in Brownstown, Ind., then Woodfill would trailer them to Flint to take advantage of Michigan’s refund law on deposits, the statement said.
Also read:
Man ordered to pay fine for 10,000 nonrefundable bottles
Delta worker allegedly stole 1,500 mini booze bottles
“This was not a one-time nickel-and-dime case,” Schuette said in the statement. “This man orchestrated bogus refunds for tens of thousands of non-returnable beverage containers. In effect he stole from Michigan’s bottle return program that has long served to protect and promote a healthy environment. His actions also negatively affected distributors, merchants and even consumers who carry much of the burden in making the program work.”
For some of the beverage containers, Woodfill used “phony labels” to give the appearance of a proper bar code for automatic return machines.
This is an issue state lawmakers have tried to crack down on for years since 1978, when Michigan became the only state that refunds 10 cents per can or bottle. But it may sound really familiar if you’re a fan of “Seinfeld,” the long-running NBC sitcom from the 1990s.
In one episode, “The Bottle Deposit” - which aired in 1996, during the show’s 7th season - Kramer and Newman hatch a scheme to return New York cans and bottles in Michigan, where they can earn 10 cents per deposit instead of 5. Newman, a mailman, crunches the numbers and decides they’ll use a mail truck carrying spillover Mother’s Day mail to be sorted in Saginaw, therefore bypassing gas and rental fees.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/03/22/flint-man-bottle-return-scheme/99483692/
I didn’t see anything in the fine print that a person could not do this. I am sure many otheres have done this, maybe not at the same huge amounts, but all of these gov’t programs just give people a challenge to find a way to game the system.
Do the bottles say the bottle had to be purchased within California?
If not, it’s the state’s fault. They did legitimate recycling.
Huh? Pray tell what are out-of-state containers and containers that had already been redeemed within California?
If they've already been redeemed within California, why are they not in the possession of the state of CA?
Ingenious and industrious!
I miss Kramer.
I actually pulled a Costanza and did the opposite for a month.
Everything went fine…
Collecting garbage for profit. “America ... What a country!”
Yep. The phony premise of recycling is to protect the environment. If these bottles would otherwise be polluting the landfills in AZ, then this couple are being good ‘green’ stewards.
Well, the way the system is supposed to work - the state isn’t paying you for the can, it is RETURNING the deposit you paid when the item was bought.
So, if the deposit was never paid on the item, it’s not there to reclaim.
“containers that had already been redeemed within California.”
Wonder how they did that?
They got greedy. I wonder how many do this on a smaller scale. Say $500 a month.
It took only six comments to get to the Seinfield episode. LOL
Sounds like California should mandate micro-stamped bottles and cans, “smart” containers, and pull tab/twist top locks.
I don’t understand how they broke the law?
They brought stuff in to be recycled. They are allowed, by law, to transport items and personal items between states. Specifically, the Interstate Commerce act says that States cannot stop this type of commerce.
How is it fraud to recycle? Why do they punish people for aggressively recycling if it is supposed to save the planet?
Doesn’t make sense.
The state only gives back deposits when those deposits were collected by the state in the first place. Deposits for out of state containers were never paid to California, and so aren't there to be paid back by California.
Have to give them credit for thinking outside the box.
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