In committee
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
People involved in organized retail theft and cargo theft across state lines will face tougher federal prosecution, asset seizures, and money laundering charges, even when using store gift cards to hide profits. Federal prosecutors can now combine multiple smaller thefts totaling $5,000 or more over a 12-month period to charge suspects with federal felonies. The bill also establishes a dedicated federal coordination center within the Department of Homeland Security to share theft intelligence and investigative resources among retailers, freight companies, and local police departments.
People affected—Not determinable from the text provided; the bill modifies criminal statutes and interagency enforcement structures without naming a specific quantifiable population.
Fiscal magnitude—CBO cost estimate published (H.R. 2853, Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025, 2026-02-24); dollar figure pending review extraction — see receipt
Reach48provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
Sentencing & corrections−40Policing & funding−30Federal vs. state/local+35
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- State, local, and tribal law enforcement agenciesReceives investigative support, intelligence sharing, coordinated multi-agency assistance, and expanded federal training and technical assistance to combat retail and cargo theft (Sec. 4(a)).
- Retail and transportation companiesGains access to a federal information-sharing mechanism, threat intelligence, and collaborative loss-prevention and investigative support through the new Coordination Center (Sec. 4(a)).
Who it burdens
- Individuals engaging in interstate theft, cargo theft, and trafficking of stolen goodsFaces new criminal forfeiture of property and proceeds, easier felony thresholds via 12-month aggregation of stolen goods, and expanded exposure to federal money laundering charges involving gift cards and prepaid cards (Sec. 3).
- Department of Homeland SecurityMust establish, staff, and run the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center for seven years, conduct reviews of federal grant and training programs, and submit annual congressional reports (Sec. 4(a)).
- Businesses with confidential commercial information involved in supply chain investigationsFaces potential disclosure of their confidential commercial information across partner agencies without standard Trade Secrets Act restrictions when deemed operationally necessary for investigations (Sec. 4(a)).