In 2022, Michigan Retailers Association and many of our members were a critical voice in support of the Attorney General’s efforts to establish an Organized Retail Crime Unit. In addition to achieving enhanced penalties for ORC offenses, we assisted in securing $3.5 million dollars for the ORC Unit and its FORCE team. The FORCE team is tasked with investigating ORC offenses exclusively. With millions in products recovered and restitution paid, and many successful prosecutions, the FORCE team’s success has been overwhelming and is a successful partnership between prosecutorial authorities, MRA, and asset protection units with MRA member retailers.
Given Michigan’s resounding success, MRA and many of its members have been proud to work with the National Retail Federation to move the federal Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which regrettably did not pass under the Biden administration, but will continue to be pursued.
Of immediate importance is continued funding for the Attorney General’s ORC Unit and the FORCE Team, which is an MRA priority. The Attorney General is pursuing at least $3.5 million dollars in funding to continue its good work. With the new legislature firmly in place and committees being rounded out, budget meetings will commence in the immediate future. We at MRA will be teaming up with the Attorney General and our members to advance this critical effort in the coming months.
It’s important to remember that ORC, and retail fraud in general, impacts all MRA members. Member engagement on this issue is important and encouraged. If you would like to be more involved in MRA’s efforts, please reach out to me at tclement@retailers.com to identify ways that you can help.
Separately, in addition to ORC funding, we have also started meeting with legislative leaders to add gift card fraud to the INFORM Act, which we were successful in getting signed into law a few years ago. It’s no secret that this type of fraud has become more prevalent and needs to be addressed. Stay tuned for more to come on this.
