The police and prosecutors now have a new criminal offense to charge defendants with that will enhance penalties significantly. The offense is Organized Retail Crime, a felony, which is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000.00 fine.
Retail Fraud
Basic retail fraud in Michigan is broken down into three degrees. Third Degree Retail Fraud and Second Degree Retail Fraud are both misdemeanors punishable by up to 93 days in jail and up to one year in jail, respectively. First Degree retail fraud is a felony and is punishable by up to five years in prison.
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In all of the above retail fraud cases the fine associated can be three times the value of the item stolen. For example, if you were found guilty of retail fraud second and the item you were found to have stolen had a value of $500, then you could be ordered to pay up to $1,500.00 in fines.
The degrees are based on the value of the item stolen. $1,000.00 or more is a retail fraud first, $200-$999.99 is a retail fraud second, and $199.99 or less is a retail fraud third.
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Organized Retail Fraud
One major distinction is that there is no value requirement associated with the new offense, so a person could be charged with a five year felony when an items value is under $1,000.00.
Another distinction, and potential incentive to police and prosecutors to pursue charges under the Organized Retail Fraud act, is that if the true owner of the property cannot be identified the property and any proceeds from the sale of the property go to the State of Michigan.
The statute has a built in provision that seems to encourage undercover sales (stings) by police. It states that is the property was represented as stolen to someone buying it and the person buying it goes ahead and makes the purchase then that person cannot claim that the item was not actually stolen as a defense. For example, if an under cover officer tried to sell a Rolex watch to someone and told them, “this is a stolen watch” and the person bought it and was subsequently charged with Organized Retail Crime they could not claim that they didn’t commit the offense because it was a police sting and not actually stolen property.
If you have been charged with retail fraud or organized retail fraud contact Michigan criminal defense lawyer, Aaron J. Boria. We have experience in getting theft crimes reduced, dismissed, and have even won at trial. Call today (734) 453-7806
