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Family accused recycled bottles Arizona to California
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In July 2023, eight family members were charged with recycling fraud, grand theft, and conspiracy after allegedly smuggling 178 tons of recyclables from Arizona to California to take advantage of the state’s recycling program. The family, who run recycling centers in Southern California, are accused of hauling the recyclables to Riverside County recycling centers over an eight-month period in 2022 and illegally redeeming $7.6 million for the aluminum cans and plastic bottles. California’s recycling program offers residents 5–10 cents per beverage container as an incentive to recycle, and the family is accused of exploiting this program.
If convicted of felony grand theft, the family members could face up to three years in prison, and the severity of their actions could increase their sentence by an additional three years. As of July 28, 2023, the defendants have not been convicted of any crimes
One family pocketed $7.6 million by taking cans and bottles from Arizona and recycling them in California. That’s fraud, prosecutors say.
www.yahoo.com/news/one-family-pocketed-7-6-221318711.html
Prosecutors say a family that made $7.6 million from recycling defrauded the state of California.
The family, based in Southern California, is accused of recycling materials purchased in Arizona.
More than $1 million worth of “illegally imported beverage containers” was found, a statement says.
A California family that earned millions of dollars just by recycling cans and bottles has now been accused of multiple felonies that could lead to years behind bars.
In a felony complaint filed this month, state prosecutors charged eight family members in Riverside County with defrauding the state by importing used bottles and cans from Arizona — some 178 tons in 8 months — and recycling them in California.
The recycling operation earned the family $7.6 million, according to a statement from the office of California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta. Investigators also found a stash of “illegally imported beverage containers” worth another $1 million.
When someone purchases a plastic or aluminum bottle in California, they typically pay an extra 5 to 10 cents in “California Redemption Value,” or CRV, which the consumer can get back by returning the items to one of the state’s more than 1,200 recycling centers. Arizona has no such program.
AC