Combating Organized Retail Crime Act

Key Points

• Creates a new federal Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within Homeland Security Investigations. This center must be set up within 90 days of the bill becoming law and will coordinate federal, state, local, and tribal efforts to fight organized theft rings.
• Lowers the bar for federal prosecution by allowing prosecutors to add up multiple smaller thefts over a 12-month period. If stolen goods total $5,000 or more within a year, federal charges can apply, even if no single theft hit that amount on its own.
• Expands money laundering laws to cover modern payment methods like prepaid cards, gift certificates, and store gift cards. Criminals often use these tools to move money from selling stolen goods, and this update gives law enforcement new ways to trace that activity.
• Brings together agents from the FBI, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, ATF, DEA, Customs and Border Protection, and other agencies into one coordinated team. A Deputy Director will rotate every two years between FBI, Secret Service, and the Postal Inspection Service.
• The new center has a 7-year sunset provision, meaning Congress would need to reauthorize it to keep it running. The center must also publish annual public reports tracking organized retail and supply chain crime trends.