Grassley-Cortez Masto Bill Bolsters Federal Response to Organized Retail Theft

Press Release

New legislation from Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) targets the rise in flash mob robberies and intricate retail theft schemes sweeping the nation. The Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act establishes a coordinated multi-agency response and creates new tools to tackle evolving trends in organized retail theft.

"Stores throughout American communities have not been spared from a national crime wave. These organized theft rings have been developing new tactics to pilfer goods, causing economic harm to American businesses and putting consumers at risk while funding transnational criminal organizations throughout the world. These criminals are exploiting the internet and online marketplaces to stay one step ahead of the law, and it's time the law catches up. This bill improves our federal response to organized retail crime and establishes new tools to recover goods and illicit proceeds, and deter future attacks on American retailers," Grassley said.

"Law enforcement must have access to the tools they need to crack down on organized crime groups that target shops and retailers in Nevada and across the country. My bipartisan legislation will do just that by going after large-scale criminal schemes and working with the retail industry to deter, detect, and prosecute these crimes," Cortez Masto said.

Organized retail crime costs retailers $720,000 for every $1 billion in sales -- up 50 percent since 2015. As law enforcement focuses on the rise in drug trafficking and other offenses, criminal organizations have increasingly turned to retail crime to generate illicit profits, using internet-based tools to organize flash mobs, sell stolen goods and move money.

The bipartisan Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act creates a unified government and industry collaboration to address this trend. The bill establishes a Center to Combat Organized Retail Crime at Homeland Security Investigations that combines expertise from state and local law enforcement agencies as well as retail industry representatives. It also creates new tools to assist in federal investigation and prosecution of organized retail crime, and help recover lost goods and proceeds.

The Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act is supported by the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Innovating Commerce Serving Communities, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.

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