Posted on 09/28/2007 11:58:39 AM PDT by nuconvert
Michigan Officials Bust Bottle-Deposit Fraud Ring
DETROIT — They did what Kramer and Newman of "Seinfeld" could not.
Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with a smuggling ring that collected millions of beverage containers in other states and cashed them in for 10 cents apiece in Michigan as part of a scam straight out of a "Seinfeld" episode, authorities said Wednesday.
Authorities seized more than $500,000 in cash and 15 people were named in a 67-count warrant issued as part of Operation Can Scam, Attorney General Mike Cox said Wednesday. Some suspects were members of two smuggling rings based in Ohio and others were Michigan merchants who took part in the scheme, he said.
The probe recalled a 1996 episode of "Seinfeld" in which two characters learn about Michigan's 10-cent deposit law and head there with a truckload of 5-cent New York cans, hoping to cash in on the difference, before getting sidetracked.
"A half-million in cash is not 'Seinfeld' humor," Cox spokesman Matt Frendewey said.
Investigators alleged that millions of non-redeemable out-of-state cans were collected, crushed, packaged in plastic bags and sold at a discount to merchants who then redeemed them. Bulk redemption payments from the state are based on weight.
The scheme defrauded the Michigan Bottle Deposit Fund, whose proceeds are used to pay for environmental cleanup efforts, Cox said in a statement.
"Each year, this type of activity defrauds the state approximately $13 million," said Col. Peter Munoz,
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Let’s see:
1. Something that someone pays 10 cents a pound for is worth 10 cents a pound, even if that someone is the STUPID governmnt of Michigan.
2. You seem to be under the impression that aluminium cans come with a passport or something. Aluminium is a commodity and does not have a locality attached to it.
Mark my words if there isn't there will be by Monday.
Yes.
Do you have to take the can to the store where you bought it to get the “deposit” back?
No, but you must take it to a store that sells that brand. For example, you cannot redeem "Sam's Choice" cans at Kroger.
What about pop machines? Where do you take those cans?
To any store that sells that brand.
And how do they know where you bought the can?
If you buy the can in Michigan it will say "ME-VT-CT-MA-NY-OR-IA 5 Cents, MI 10 Cents, CA Cash Refund."
This is way too complicated for an empty aluminum can.
It's been working for 30 years here, and it has kept the roadsides clean. Searching for discarded pop cans and bottles gives our homeless something to do.
The crimefighters in Michigan are on the job.
Detroit looks like a toilet, but by gum, the roadsides are clean.
$500,000 !
They had 1/2 million on used cans!
So in effect it's not even a deposit program but a sin tax on purchasers of canned and bottle drinks. A revenue stream for big gubment to wallow in.
If the cans are identical I'd demand they prove the cans weren't bought there. How the hell can they possibly do that?
1. Something that someone pays 10 cents a pound for is worth 10 cents a pound, even if that someone is the STUPID governmnt of Michigan.
Let's see. It's not ten cents a pound, it is ten cents a can. Ten cents that has theoretically been collected at the time of sale, and theoretically returned at the time of redemption. If the deposit was never paid, then redeeming that deposit is fraud and is illegal.
2. You seem to be under the impression that aluminium cans come with a passport or something. Aluminium is a commodity and does not have a locality attached to it.
You seem to be under the impression that the State of Michigan is paying all comers for whatever aluminum they happen to bring along, be it cans, used foil, or a 747 wing.
As a matter of fact, cans eligible for deposit redemption does come with a passport of sorts. It is stamped right on the can if it is eligible for the deposit program. Cans bought in states without a deposit program do not have that stamp. Redeeming cans without a stamp is fraud.
We aren't talking about bags of shredded Boeing 747s here. Stores crush the cans they have redeemed to reduce the storage bulk, then return those bags to the state, who weigh the bags of crushed cans to determine the count inside the bags. That's all. Not too hard to comprehend.
This group had someone on the inside of a store to accept bags of crushed cans, who then turned them into the State for reimbursement, which is commiting fraud.
The State does NOT accept bags of crushed cans from the general public, only from retailers.
Clearer now?
So, of course Michigan will now discard these millions of cans since it doesn’t belong there. I wonder where the state of Michigan will dispose of them? After all, they will get their half million back.
You'll get no argument from me! There's more to Michigan than Detroit, just as there is more to California than just Los Angeles.
It is not a perfect world, but this seems a positive step
We still recycle other forms of aluminum.
How much does the state of Michigan pay for all of the burned-out junked automobiles I see on the highways around Detroit? Must not be very much at all.
Seinfeld makes $60 million a year on rebroadcast royalties.
Yes, you have to pay .10 for every can or bottle of carbonated beverage. Water and tea have no deposit although they are thinking of adding it. You may take them back to any store providing that store sells that brand of pop.
It works OK and really did serve to keep the streets and beaches clean.
Pop machines just factor the deposit into the cost of the pop.
If nothing else, the bottle deposit law has served to really clean up these areas.
It beats being a responsible citizen and picking up your @rap.
ping
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