Why is it a felony? Why such a draconian penalty?
The fraud is charging the 10¢ so-called “deposit” in the first place. That is where the stealing occurs. Most people in Michigan are not bothered if someone comes in from out of state and collects a bit of revenue that way; that’s actually industrious.
Just as we are bothered by people dumping their trash along our highways.
That was the reason for the deposit, because people are slobs. It worked. When you compare the roadsides in Michigan to the roadsides in say, Pennsylvania, you find they are much cleaner.