II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5046 

To combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail goods 

for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through physical 

and online retail marketplaces. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition 

of retail goods for the purpose of selling those illegally 

obtained goods through physical and online retail marketplaces. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Organized 

5 Retail Crime Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) organized retail crime, a crime involving 

2 groups of individuals specifically targeting retail 

3 stores, often by using violence or threats of violence 

4 to subdue employees and shoppers while robbing 

5 stores of their most valuable and easily diverted 

6 merchandise, has been a growing concern to retail7 ers, industry, and law enforcement; 

8 (2) retailers have seen a dramatic increase in 

9 occurrences of organized retail crime, costing retail10 ers approximately $720,000 per every 

11 $1,000,000,000 in sales in 2019, representing more 

12 than a 50-percent increase in such losses since 2015. 

13 Further, according to the National Retail Federa14 tion, the use of violence or aggression is increasing 

in the commission of these crimes, with 2 15 ⁄3 of retail16 ers reporting an increase of violence during the com17 mission of retail theft; 

18 (3) organized retail crime— 

19 (A) threatens the safety and liberty of in20 dividuals in the United States when those indi21 viduals engage in commerce; 

22 (B) erodes the retail economy for cus23 tomers and businesses alike; and 

24 (C) finances transnational criminal organi25 zations that use the proceeds of those thefts to 


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1 support the criminal goals of the criminal orga2 nizations; and 

3 (4) it has become necessary for Congress— 

4 (A) to amend title 18, United States Code, 

5 to ensure that law enforcement has the legal 

6 tools necessary to combat organized retail crime 

7 in the same capacity as law enforcement is able 

8 to combat theft and diversion from other por9 tions of the supply chain; and 

10 (B) to direct the executive branch to create 

11 a central coordination center to align Federal, 

12 State, local, territorial, and Tribal efforts to 

13 combat organized retail crime. 

14 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE. 

15 Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in section 982(a)(5)— 

17 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), 

18 (D), and (E) as subparagraphs (D), (E), and 

19 (F), respectively; 

20 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) section 659 (interstate or foreign ship23 ments by carrier; State prosecutions);’’; 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (E), as so redesig2 nated, by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a semi3 colon; and 

4 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (F), 

5 as so redesignated, the following: 

6 ‘‘(G) section 2314 (transportation of stolen 

7 goods, securities, moneys, fraudulent State tax 

8 stamps, or articles used in counterfeiting); or 

9 ‘‘(H) section 2315 (sale or receipt of stolen 

10 goods, securities, moneys, or fraudulent State tax 

11 stamps)’’; 

12 (2) in section 1956(c)(7)(D)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘section 659 (interstate or 

14 foreign shipments by carrier; State prosecu15 tions),’’ after ‘‘section 658 (relating to property 

16 mortgaged or pledged to farm credit agen17 cies),’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘section 2314 (transpor19 tation of stolen goods, securities, moneys, 

20 fraudulent State tax stamps, or articles used in 

21 counterfeiting), section 2315 (sale or receipt of 

22 stolen goods, securities, moneys, or fraudulent 

23 State tax stamps),’’ after ‘‘section 2281 (relat24 ing to violence against maritime fixed plat25 forms),’’; 


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1 (3) in section 2314, in the first paragraph— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘or by using any facility 

3 of interstate or foreign commerce,’’ after ‘‘com4 merce’’; 

5 (B) by inserting ‘‘or of an aggregate value 

6 of $5,000 or more during any 12-month pe7 riod,’’ after ‘‘more,’’; 

8 (C) by inserting ‘‘, embezzled,’’ after ‘‘sto9 len’’; and 

10 (D) by inserting ‘‘, false pretense, or other 

11 illegal means’’ after ‘‘fraud’’; and 

12 (4) in section 2315, in the first paragraph— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘or of an aggregate value 

14 of $5,000 or more during any 12-month pe15 riod,’’ after ‘‘$5,000 or more,’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’; and 

17 (C) by inserting ‘‘, or have been stolen, un18 lawfully converted, or taken by the use of any 

19 facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the 

20 commission of said act; or’’ at the end. 

21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTER TO COMBAT ORGA22 NIZED RETAIL CRIME. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Trade Facilitation 

24 and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4341 et 


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1 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 305 the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 305A. ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME COORDINATION 

4 CENTER. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ means the 

7 Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center estab8 lished pursuant to subsection (b)(1). 

9 ‘‘(2) ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME.—The term 

10 ‘organized retail crime’ includes— 

11 ‘‘(A) any crime described in section 2314 

12 or 2315 of title 18, United States Code; and 

13 ‘‘(B) aiding or abetting the commission of, 

14 or conspiring to commit, any act that is in fur15 therance of a violation of a crime referred to in 

16 paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(b) ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME COORDINATION

18 CENTER.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of the Combating 

21 Organized Retail Crime Act of 2022, the Secretary 

22 of Homeland Security shall direct the Executive As23 sociate Director of Homeland Security Investigations 

24 to establish the Organized Retail Crime Coordina25 tion Center. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Center shall 

2 include— 

3 ‘‘(A) coordinating Federal law enforcement 

4 activities related to organized retail crime, in5 cluding investigations of national and 

6 transnational criminal organizations that are 

7 engaged in organized retail crime; 

8 ‘‘(B) establishing relationships with State 

9 and local law enforcement agencies and organi10 zations, including organized retail crime asso11 ciations, and sharing information regarding or12 ganized retail crime threats with such agencies 

13 and organizations; 

14 ‘‘(C) assisting State and local law enforce15 ment agencies with their investigations of orga16 nized retail crime groups; 

17 ‘‘(D) establishing relationships with retail 

18 companies, sharing information with such com19 panies regarding organized retail crime threats, 

20 and providing mechanisms for the receipt of in21 vestigative information on such threats; 

22 ‘‘(E) establishing a secure system for shar23 ing information regarding organized retail 

24 crime threats by leveraging existing information 


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1 systems at the Department of Homeland Secu2 rity and the Department of Justice; 

3 ‘‘(F) tracking trends with respect to orga4 nized retail crime and releasing annual public 

5 reports on such trends; and 

6 ‘‘(G) supporting the provision of training 

7 and technical assistance in accordance with sub8 section (c). 

9 ‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP; STAFFING.— 

10 ‘‘(A) DIRECTOR.—The Center shall be 

11 headed by a Director, who shall be— 

12 ‘‘(i) an experienced law enforcement 

13 officer; 

14 ‘‘(ii) appointed by the Director of 

15 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce16 ment; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) in the Senior Executive Service 

18 (as defined in section 3132 of title 5, 

19 United States Code). 

20 ‘‘(B) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.—The Director of 

21 the Center shall be assisted by a Deputy Direc22 tor, who shall be appointed, on a 2-year rota23 tional basis, upon request from the Executive 

24 Associate Director of Homeland Security Inves25 tigations, by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Director of the Federal Bu2 reau of Investigation; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the United States 

4 Secret Service; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) the Chief Postal Inspector. 

6 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL STAFF.—The staff of the 

7 Center shall include— 

8 ‘‘(i) Special Agents and Analysts from 

9 Homeland Security Investigations; 

10 ‘‘(ii) detailed criminal investigators, 

11 analysts, and liaisons from other Federal 

12 agencies who have responsibilities related 

13 to organized retail crime, including 

14 detailees from— 

15 ‘‘(I) U.S. Customs and Border 

16 Protection; 

17 ‘‘(II) the United States Secret 

18 Service; 

19 ‘‘(III) the United States Postal 

20 Inspection Service; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) the Bureau of Alcohol, To22 bacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

23 ‘‘(D) STATE AND LOCAL STAFF.—The 

24 staff of the Center may include detailees from 

25 State and local law enforcement agencies, who 


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1 shall serve at the Center on a nonreimbursable 

2 basis. 

3 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall co5 ordinate its activities, as appropriate, with 

6 other Federal agencies and centers responsible 

7 for countering transnational organized crime 

8 threats. 

9 ‘‘(B) SHARED RESOURCES.—In estab10 lishing the Center, the Executive Associate Di11 rector of Homeland Security Investigations may 

12 co-locate or otherwise share resources and per13 sonnel, including detailees and agency liaisons, 

14 with— 

15 ‘‘(i) the National Intellectual Property 

16 Rights Coordination Center, established 

17 pursuant to section 305(a)(1); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) other existing interagency cen19 ters within the Department of Homeland 

20 Security. 

21 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS.—The Director of the 

22 Center, or his or her designee, may enter into 

23 agreements with Federal, State, local, and Trib24 al agencies and private sector entities to faciliVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Oct 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5046.IS S5046

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1 tate carrying out the duties described in sub2 section (b)(2). 

3 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION SHARING.—Subject to 

4 the approval of the Director of the Center, in5 formation that would otherwise be subject to 

6 the limitation on the disclosure of confidential 

7 information set forth in section 1905 of title 

8 18, United States Code, may be shared if such 

9 disclosure is operationally necessary. The Direc10 tor may not delegate his or her authority under 

11 this subparagraph. 

12 ‘‘(5) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

15 year after the date of the enactment of the 

16 Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 

17 2022, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 shall submit a report regarding the estab19 lishment of the Center to— 

20 ‘‘(I) the Committee on the Judi21 ciary of the Senate; 

22 ‘‘(II) the Committee on Home23 land Security and Governmental Af24 fairs of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the Committee on the Ju2 diciary of the House of Representa3 tives; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) the Committee on Home5 land Security of the House of Rep6 resentatives. 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—The report required 

8 under clause (i) should include a descrip9 tion of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the organizational structure 

11 of the Center; 

12 ‘‘(II) the agencies and partner 

13 organizations that are represented 

14 within the Center; 

15 ‘‘(III) any challenges that had to 

16 be addressed while establishing the 

17 Center; 

18 ‘‘(IV) any lessons learned from 

19 establishing the Center, including suc20 cessful prosecutions resulting from the 

21 activities of the Center; 

22 ‘‘(V) recommendations for ways 

23 to strengthen the enforcement of laws 

24 involving organized retail crime; 


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1 ‘‘(VI) recommendations for ways 

2 to include organized retail crime with3 in a holistic supply chain security en4 forcement framework; 

5 ‘‘(VII) the intersections and com6 monalities between organized retail 

7 crime organizations and other orga8 nized theft groups, including supply 

9 chain diversion and theft; and 

10 ‘‘(VIII) the impact of organized 

11 theft groups on the scarcity of vital 

12 products, including medicines, per13 sonal protective equipment, and infant 

14 formula. 

15 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning on the 

16 date that is 1 year after the submission of the 

17 report required under subparagraph (A), the 

18 Director shall submit an annual report that de19 scribes the activities of the Center during the 

20 previous year to the congressional committees 

21 listed in subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of the Combating 

25 Organized Retail Crime Act of 2022, the Secretary 


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1 of Homeland Security and the Attorney General 

2 shall conduct an evaluation of existing Federal pro3 grams that provide grants, training, and technical 

4 support to State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 

5 to assist in countering organized retail crime. 

6 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION SCOPE.—The evaluation re7 quired under paragraph (1) shall evaluate, at a min8 imum— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Homeland Security Grant Pro10 gram at the Federal Emergency Management 

11 Agency; 

12 ‘‘(B) grant programs at the Office of Jus13 tice Programs within the Department of Jus14 tice; and 

15 ‘‘(C) relevant training programs at the 

16 Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. 

17 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 45 days after 

18 the completion of the evaluation required under 

19 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

20 and the Attorney General shall jointly submit a re21 port to the congressional committees listed in sub22 section (b)(5)(A)(i) that— 

23 ‘‘(A) describes the results of such evalua24 tion; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes recommendations on ways to 

2 expand grants, training, and technical assist3 ance for combating organized retail crime. 

4 ‘‘(4) ENHANCING OR MODIFYING TRAINING AND

5 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 45 days 

6 after submitting the report required in paragraph 

7 (3), the Secretary of Homeland Security and the At8 torney General shall jointly issue formal guidance to 

9 relevant agencies and offices within the Department 

10 of Homeland Security and the Department of Jus11 tice for modifying or expanding, as appropriate, the 

12 prioritization of training and technical assistance de13 signed to counter organized retail crime.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 for the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 

16 2015 (Public Law 107–296) is amended by inserting after 

17 the item relating to section 305 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 305A. Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center.’’. 

Æ 


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