This Michigan Law Could Put Ordinary Grocery Shoppers In Jail

If you are thinking of stealing a little something something from the mall, you may want to think twice.

Simply buying a stolen item from someone else could get you into a lot of trouble.

Have you heard of the Organized Retail Crime Act or the INFORM Act?

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Organized Retail Crime

According to Michigan Legislature Section 752.1083,

Organized retail crime means the theft of retail merchandise from a retail merchant with the intent or purpose of reselling, distributing, or otherwise rentering the retail merchandise in commerce, including the transfer of the stolen retail merchandise to another retail merchant or to any other person personally, through the mail, or through any electronic medium, including the internet, in exchange for anything of value.

Have you heard of the Michigan Organized Retail Crime Act?

Organized Retail Crime Act

The Organized Retail Crime Act was passed back in 2012 by Governor Rick Snyder.

A person is guilty of organized retail crime, if they alone or in association with another person, did these things:

• knowingly commits an organized retail crime
• organizes, supervises, finances, or helps another person in committing an organized retail crime
• removes, destroys, knowingly evades, or deactivates any antishoplifting device to prevent being detected
• conspires with another person to commit an organized retail crime
• receives, purchases, or possesses any merchandise that was knowing or believing to know that the merch was stolen
• uses any tool to create an organized crime
• knowingly pulls the fire alarm to distract from organized retail crime
• or knowingly purchases a wireless device to conduct fraud.

The first time that anyone was convicted or sentenced under this crime act was in Kent County.

INFORM Act

In conjunction with the Organized Crime Act, lawmakers also passed the Michigan Intergrity Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) Act to help fight against retail fraud.

It is also backed by Meijer and other partners to make the law happen.

Offenses

Do not take this act lightly!

The legislature always says that,

Organized retail crime is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of $5,000.00 or both.

In addition, you would have to pay restitution to any retail merchant that you stole from and pay the prosecutor and police as well.

So before you steal or help another person steal, check the law.