A Fox46 investigation is sparking new calls for a law that would help curb organized retail crime.
The Buy Safe America Coalition says it’s sharing a FOX46 investigation into retail racketeering with North Carolina’s Congressional delegation. The group, which advocates for tougher measures to stop the sale of stolen and counterfeit items, says lawmakers plan to reintroduce a bill this year that would provide more transparency when you shop online.
“The story, Matt, that you ran before, I’m going to send that up to Capitol Hill to show how big this issue is from your reporting and how it affects businesses,” Buy Safe America Coalition spokesperson Michael Hanson told FOX46 investigative reporter Matt Grant.
The INFORM Consumers Act, which was introduced last year but did not get a vote, would make online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace verify the identities of high-volume sellers by requiring photo IDs, addresses, phone numbers and bank account information.
The goal is to make sure sellers are legitimate and stop the stolen and counterfeit merchandise from being sold to bargain hunters, who don’t have a clue they’re being products that could be on a police report.
“Providing this kind of transparency online would protect consumers,” said Hanson. “And stop criminals from hiding behind anonymous accounts and selling stolen and counterfeit goods to consumers.” Home Depot says a federal law is needed… NBC2 News
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/former-state-rep-kevin-haggerty-arrested-on-credit-card-fraud-charges/article_fe485e47-6f73-552d-9768-c3f592e575d0.html
Duo Accused of ORC Ring Stealing $1,000s in Multiple Locations
Two Bend men have been arrested on organized retail theft and other charges, accused of stealing more than $6,300 worth of items from four major retailers to sell on the internet, police said Thursday.
A Bend officer who responded to Sportsman’s Warehouse last month on a reported theft was given security video of two suspects and surveillance video of the red Ford Expedition they were associated with, Lieutenant Juli McConkey said.
On Monday of last week, the officer who took that report spotted the SUV and pulled it over, identifying one suspect, a 24-year-old man, and finding “the SUV was filled with recently stolen merchandises from various retailers throughout the city,” McConkey said in a news release.
The officer also identified a storage unit the man rented, sought and was granted a search warrant and found several stolen items there as well, the lieutenant said. The suspect was first taken to St. Charles Bend, then to the Deschutes County Jail last Thursday.
The investigation turned up a second suspect, a 50-year-old man. He was contacted, a search warrant granted and several stolen items were found in his apartment, McConkey said. He, too, was arrested taken to the county jail.
Police were able to identify and return the stolen property to Sportsman’s Warehouse, Bi-Mart, Fred Meyer and Walmart, McConkey said… KTVZ21 News
