II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3434 

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 

AUGUST 1, 2008 

Mr. DURBIN 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 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Organized retail crime involves the coordi2 nated acquisition of large volumes of retail merchan3 dise by theft, embezzlement, fraud, false pretenses, 

4 or other illegal means from commercial entities en5 gaged in interstate commerce, for the purpose of 

6 selling or distributing such illegally obtained items in 

7 the stream of commerce. Organized retail crime is a 

8 growing problem nationwide that costs American 

9 companies and consumers billions of dollars annually 

10 and that has a substantial and direct effect upon 

11 interstate commerce. 

12 (2) The illegal acquisition and black-market 

13 sale of merchandise by persons engaged in organized 

14 retail crime result in an estimated annual loss of 

15 hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and income 

16 tax revenues to State and local governments. 

17 (3) The illegal acquisition, unsafe tampering 

18 and storage, and unregulated redistribution of con19 sumer products such as baby formula, over-the20 counter drugs, and other items by persons engaged 

21 in organized retail crime pose a health and safety 

22 hazard to consumers nationwide. 

23 (4) Investigations into organized retail crime 

24 have revealed that the illegal income resulting from 

25 such crime often benefits persons and organizations 


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1 engaged in other forms of criminal activity, such as 

2 drug trafficking and gang activity. 

3 (5) Items obtained through organized retail 

4 crime are resold in a variety of different market5 places, including flea markets, swap meets, open-air 

6 markets, and Internet auction websites. Increasingly, 

7 persons engaged in organized retail crime use Inter8 net auction websites to resell illegally obtained items. 

9 The Internet offers such sellers a worldwide market 

10 and a degree of anonymity that physical marketplace 

11 settings do not offer. 

12 SEC. 3. OFFENSES RELATED TO ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME. 

13 (a) TRANSPORTATION OF STOLEN GOODS.—The first 

14 undesignated paragraph of section 2314 of title 18, 

15 United States Code, is amended by inserting after ‘‘more,’’ 

16 the following: ‘‘or, during any 12-month period, of an ag17 gregate value of $5,000 or more during that period,’’. 

18 (b) SALE OR RECEIPT OF STOLEN GOODS.—The first 

19 undesignated paragraph of section 2315 of title 18, 

20 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

21 ‘‘$5,000 or more,’’ the following: ‘‘or, during any 12- 

22 month period, of an aggregate value of $5,000 or more 

23 during that period,’’. 

24 (c) FRAUD IN CONNECTION WITH ACCESS DE25 VICES.—Section 1029(e)(1) of title 18, United States 


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1 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘Universal Product Code 

2 label,’’ after ‘‘code,’’. 

3 (d) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL SEN4 TENCING GUIDELINES FOR OFFENSES RELATED TO OR5 GANIZED RETAIL CRIME.— 

6 (1) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The United States Sen8 tencing Commission, pursuant to its authority 

9 under section 994 of title 28, United States 

10 Code, and in accordance with this subsection, 

11 shall review and, if appropriate, amend the 

12 Federal sentencing guidelines (including its pol13 icy statements) applicable to persons convicted 

14 of offenses involving organized retail crime, 

15 which is the coordinated acquisition of large 

16 volumes of retail merchandise by theft, embez17 zlement, fraud, false pretenses, or other illegal 

18 means from commercial entities engaged in 

19 interstate commerce for the purpose of selling 

20 or distributing such illegally obtained items in 

21 the stream of commerce. 

22 (B) OFFENSES.—Offenses referred to in 

23 subparagraph (A) may include offenses con24 tained in— 


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1 (i) sections 1029, 2314, and 2315 of 

2 title 18, United States Code; or 

3 (ii) any other relevant provision of the 

4 United States Code. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the re6 quirements of this subsection, the United States 

7 Sentencing Commission shall— 

8 (A) ensure that the Federal sentencing 

9 guidelines (including its policy statements) re10 flect— 

11 (i) the serious nature and magnitude 

12 of organized retail crime; and 

13 (ii) the need to deter, prevent, and 

14 punish offenses involving organized retail 

15 crime; 

16 (B) consider the extent to which the Fed17 eral sentencing guidelines (including its policy 

18 statements) adequately address offenses involv19 ing organized retail crime to sufficiently deter 

20 and punish such offenses; 

21 (C) maintain reasonable consistency with 

22 other relevant directives and sentencing guide23 lines; 

24 (D) account for any additional aggravating 

25 or mitigating circumstances that might justify 


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1 exceptions to the generally applicable sentencing 

2 ranges; and 

3 (E) consider whether to provide a sen4 tencing enhancement for those convicted of con5 duct involving organized retail crime, where 

6 such conduct involves— 

7 (i) a threat to public health and safe8 ty, including alteration of an expiration 

9 date or of product ingredients; 

10 (ii) theft, conversion, alteration, or re11 moval of a product label; 

12 (iii) a second or subsequent offense; 

13 or 

14 (iv) the use of advanced technology to 

15 acquire retail merchandise by means of 

16 theft, embezzlement, fraud, false pretenses, 

17 or other illegal means. 

18 SEC. 4. SALES OF ILLEGALLY OBTAINED ITEMS IN PHYS19 ICAL OR ONLINE RETAIL MARKETPLACES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 113 of title 18, United 

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 2323. ONLINE RETAIL MARKETPLACES. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the fol25 lowing definitions shall apply: 


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1 ‘‘(1) HIGH VOLUME SELLER.—The term ‘high 

2 volume seller’ means a user of an online retail mar3 ketplace who, in any continuous 12-month period 

4 during the previous 24 months, has entered into— 

5 ‘‘(A) multiple discrete sales or transactions 

6 resulting in the accumulation of an aggregate 

7 total of $20,000 or more in gross revenues; or 

8 ‘‘(B) 200 or more discrete sales or trans9 actions resulting in the accumulation of an ag10 gregate total of $10,000 or more in gross reve11 nues. 

12 ‘‘(2) INTERNET SITE.—The term ‘Internet site’ 

13 means a location on the Internet that is accessible 

14 at a specific Internet domain name or address under 

15 the Internet Protocol (or any successor protocol), or 

16 that is identified by a uniform resource locator. 

17 ‘‘(3) ONLINE RETAIL MARKETPLACE.—The 

18 term ‘online retail marketplace’ means an Internet 

19 site where users other than the operator of the 

20 Internet site can enter into transactions with each 

21 other for the sale or distribution of goods or serv22 ices, and in which— 

23 ‘‘(A) such goods or services are promoted 

24 through inclusion in search results displayed 

25 within the Internet site; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the operator of the Internet site— 

2 ‘‘(i) has the contractual right to su3 pervise the activities of users with respect 

4 to such goods or services; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) has a financial interest in the 

6 sale of such goods or services; and 

7 ‘‘(C) in any continuous 12-month period 

8 during the previous 24 months, users other 

9 than the operator of the Internet site collec10 tively have entered into— 

11 ‘‘(i) multiple discrete transactions for 

12 the sale of goods or services aggregating a 

13 total of $500,000 or more in gross reve14 nues; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) 1,000 or more discrete trans16 actions for the sale of goods or services ag17 gregating a total of $250,000 or more in 

18 gross revenues. 

19 ‘‘(4) OPERATOR OF AN ONLINE RETAIL MAR20 KETPLACE.—The term ‘operator of an online retail 

21 marketplace’ means a person or entity that— 

22 ‘‘(A) operates or controls an online retail 

23 marketplace; and 

24 ‘‘(B) makes the online retail marketplace 

25 available for users to enter into transactions 


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1 with each other on that marketplace for the 

2 sale or distribution of goods or services. 

3 ‘‘(5) OPERATOR OF A PHYSICAL RETAIL MAR4 KETPLACE.—The term ‘operator of a physical retail 

5 marketplace’ means a person or entity that rents or 

6 otherwise makes available a physical retail market7 place to transient vendors to conduct business for 

8 the sale of goods, or services related to such goods. 

9 ‘‘(6) PHYSICAL RETAIL MARKETPLACE.—The 

10 term ‘physical retail marketplace’ may include a flea 

11 market, indoor or outdoor swap meet, open air mar12 ket, or other similar environment, and means a 

13 venue or event in which physical space is made avail14 able not more than 4 days per week by an operator 

15 of a physical retail marketplace as a temporary place 

16 of business for transient vendors to conduct business 

17 for the sale of goods, or services related to such 

18 goods; and 

19 ‘‘(A) in which in any continuous 12-month 

20 period during the preceding 24 months, there 

21 have been 10 or more days on which 5 or more 

22 transient vendors have conducted business at 

23 the venue or event; and 

24 ‘‘(B) does not mean and shall not apply to 

25 an event which is organized and conducted for 


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1 the exclusive benefit of any community chest, 

2 fund, foundation, association, or corporation or3 ganized and operated for religious, educational, 

4 or charitable purposes, provided that no part of 

5 any admission fee or parking fee charged ven6 dors or prospective purchasers, and no part of 

7 the gross receipts or net earnings from the sale 

8 or exchange of goods or services, whether in the 

9 form of a percentage of the receipts or earn10 ings, salary, or otherwise, inures to the benefit 

11 of any private shareholder or person partici12 pating in the organization or conduct of the 

13 event. 

14 ‘‘(7) STRUCTURING.—The term ‘structuring’ 

15 means to knowingly conduct, or attempt to conduct, 

16 alone, or in conjunction with or on behalf of 1 or 

17 more other persons, 1 or more transactions in cur18 rency, in any amount, in any manner, with the pur19 pose of evading categorization as a physical retail 

20 marketplace, an online retail marketplace, or a high 

21 volume seller. 

22 ‘‘(8) TEMPORARY PLACE OF BUSINESS.—The 

23 term ‘temporary place of business’ means any phys24 ical space made open to the public, including but not 

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1 cant lot, which is temporarily occupied by 1 or more 

2 persons or entities for the purpose of making sales 

3 of goods, or services related to those goods, to the 

4 public. A place of business is not temporary with re5 spect to a person or entity if that person or entity 

6 conducts business at the place and stores unsold 

7 goods there when it is not open for business. 

8 ‘‘(9) TRANSIENT VENDOR.—The term ‘transient 

9 vendor’ means any person or entity that, in the 

10 usual course of business, transports inventory, 

11 stocks of goods, or similar tangible personal property 

12 to a temporary place of business for the purpose of 

13 entering into transactions for the sale of such prop14 erty. 

15 ‘‘(10) USER.—The term ‘user’ means a person 

16 or entity that accesses an online retail marketplace 

17 for the purpose of entering into transactions for the 

18 sale or distribution of goods or services. 

19 ‘‘(11) VALID PHYSICAL POSTAL ADDRESS.—The 

20 term ‘valid physical postal address’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a current street address, including 

22 the city, State, and Zip code; 

23 ‘‘(B) a Post Office box that has been reg24 istered with the United States Postal Service; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(C) a private mailbox that has been reg2 istered with a commercial mail receiving agency 

3 that is established pursuant to United States 

4 Postal Service regulations. 

5 ‘‘(b) SAFEGUARDS AGAINST SALES OF ILLEGALLY6 OBTAINED ITEMS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DUTIES OF OPERATORS OF PHYSICAL RE8 TAIL MARKETPLACES AND ONLINE RETAIL MARKET9 PLACES TO CONDUCT ACCOUNT REVIEWS AND FILE

10 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS.—In the event that 

11 an operator of a physical or online retail market12 place is presented with documentary evidence show13 ing that a transient vendor of the physical retail 

14 marketplace, a user of the online retail marketplace, 

15 or a director, officer, employee, or agent of such 

16 transient vendor or user, has used or is using the re17 tail marketplace to sell or distribute items that were 

18 stolen, embezzled, or obtained by fraud, false pre19 tenses or other illegal means, or has engaged in or 

20 is engaging in structuring, the operator shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) not later than 15 days after receiving 

22 such evidence— 

23 ‘‘(i) file a suspicious activity report 

24 with the Attorney General of the United 

25 States; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not later than 5 days after filing 

2 the report, notify any person or entity that 

3 presented the documentary evidence that 

4 the operator filed the report; and 

5 ‘‘(B)(i) initiate a review of the account of 

6 such transient vendor or user for evidence of il7 legal activity; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) as soon as possible, but not later than 

9 45 days after receiving such evidence— 

10 ‘‘(I) complete this review; and 

11 ‘‘(II) submit the results of such ac12 count review to the Attorney General. 

13 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF OPERATORS OF PHYSICAL RE14 TAIL MARKETPLACES AND ONLINE RETAIL MARKET15 PLACES TO TERMINATE SALES ACTIVITY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an operator of a 

17 physical retail marketplace or an online retail 

18 marketplace reasonably determines that, based 

19 on the documentary evidence presented to it or 

20 the account review conducted by it under para21 graph (1), there is clear and convincing evi22 dence that a transient vendor of the physical re23 tail marketplace, a user of the online retail 

24 marketplace, or a director, officer, employee or 

25 agent of such transient vendor or user, has 


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1 used or is using the retail marketplace to sell 

2 or distribute items that were stolen, embezzled, 

3 or obtained by fraud, false pretenses, or other 

4 illegal means, or has engaged in or is engaging 

5 in structuring, the operator shall, not sooner 

6 than 21 days and not later than 45 days after 

7 submitting the results of the account review to 

8 the Attorney General pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1), either— 

10 ‘‘(i) terminate the ability of the tran11 sient vendor to conduct business at the 

12 physical retail marketplace or terminate 

13 the ability of the user to conduct trans14 actions on the online retail marketplace, 

15 and notify the Attorney General of such 

16 action; or 

17 ‘‘(ii)(I) request that the transient ven18 dor or user present documentary evidence 

19 that the operator reasonably determines to 

20 be clear and convincing showing that the 

21 transient vendor or user has not used the 

22 retail marketplace to sell or distribute 

23 items that were stolen, embezzled, or ob24 tained by fraud, false pretenses, or other 


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1 illegal means, or has not engaged in or is 

2 not engaging in structuring; and 

3 ‘‘(II)(aa) if the transient vendor or 

4 user fails to present such information with5 in 45 days of such request, terminate the 

6 ability of the transient vendor to conduct 

7 business at the physical retail marketplace 

8 or terminate the ability of the user to con9 duct transactions on the online retail mar10 ketplace, and notify the Attorney General 

11 of such action; or 

12 ‘‘(bb) if the transient vendor or user 

13 presents such information within 45 days, 

14 then the operator shall report such infor15 mation to the Attorney General and notify 

16 the transient vendor or user that the oper17 ator will not terminate the activities of the 

18 transient vendor or user. 

19 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEY GENERAL AUTHORIZA20 TION.—The Attorney General or a designee 

21 may, with respect to the timing of the opera22 tor’s actions pursuant to this paragraph, au23 thorize the operator in writing to take such ac24 tion prior to 21 days after submitting the re25 sults of the account review to the Attorney GenVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:19 Aug 05, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3434.IS S3434

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1 eral or direct the operator in writing and for 

2 good cause to delay such action to a date later 

3 than 45 days after submitting the results of the 

4 account review. 

5 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE.—The docu6 mentary evidence referenced in paragraphs (1) or 

7 (2)— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall refer to 1 or more specific 

9 items, individuals, entities or transactions alleg10 edly involved in theft, embezzlement, fraud, 

11 false pretenses, or other illegal activity; and 

12 ‘‘(B) shall be— 

13 ‘‘(i) video recordings; 

14 ‘‘(ii) audio recordings; 

15 ‘‘(iii) sworn affidavits; 

16 ‘‘(iv) financial, accounting, business, 

17 or sales records; 

18 ‘‘(v) records or transcripts of phone 

19 conversations; 

20 ‘‘(vi) documents that have been filed 

21 in a Federal or State court proceeding; or 

22 ‘‘(vii) signed reports to or from a law 

23 enforcement agency. 

24 ‘‘(4) RETENTION OF RECORDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) RETAIL MARKETPLACES.—Each oper2 ator of a physical retail marketplace and each 

3 operator of an online retail marketplace shall 

4 maintain— 

5 ‘‘(i) a record of all documentary evi6 dence presented to it pursuant to para7 graph (1) for 3 years from the date the op8 erator received the evidence; 

9 ‘‘(ii) a record of the results of all ac10 count reviews conducted pursuant to para11 graph (1), and any supporting documenta12 tion, for 3 years from the date of the re13 view; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) a copy of any suspicious activity 

15 report filed with the Attorney General pur16 suant to this subsection, and the original 

17 supporting documentation concerning any 

18 report that it files, for 3 years from the 

19 date of the filing. 

20 ‘‘(B) ONLINE RETAIL MARKETPLACE.— 

21 Each operator of an online retail marketplace 

22 shall maintain, for 3 years after the date a user 

23 becomes a high volume seller, the name, tele24 phone number, e-mail address, valid physical 

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1 formation that the operator receives about the 

2 high volume seller. 

3 ‘‘(5) CONFIDENTIALITY OF REPORTS.—No op4 erator of a physical retail marketplace or online re5 tail marketplace, and no director, officer, employee 

6 or agent of such operator, may notify any individual 

7 or entity that is the subject of a suspicious activity 

8 report filed pursuant to paragraph (1), or of an ac9 count review performed pursuant to paragraph (1), 

10 of the fact that the operator filed such a report or 

11 performed such an account review, or of any infor12 mation contained in the report or account review. 

13 ‘‘(6) HIGH VOLUME SELLERS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) VALID POSTAL ADDRESS.—An oper15 ator of an online retail marketplace shall re16 quire each high volume seller to display a valid 

17 physical postal address whenever other informa18 tion about the items or services being sold by 

19 the high volume seller is displayed on the online 

20 retail marketplace. Such valid physical postal 

21 address must be displayed in a format clearly 

22 visible to the average consumer. 

23 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO PROVIDE.—In the event 

24 that a high volume seller has failed to display 

25 a valid physical postal address as required in 


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1 this paragraph, the operator of the online retail 

2 marketplace shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) within 15 days notify the user of 

4 its duty to display a valid physical postal 

5 address; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if 45 days after providing this 

7 initial notification the user still has not 

8 displayed a valid physical postal address, 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) terminate the ability of the 

11 user to conduct transactions on mar12 ketplace; and 

13 ‘‘(II) file within 15 days a sus14 picious activity report with the Attor15 ney General of the United States. 

16 ‘‘(7) CONTENTS OF SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY RE17 PORTS.—A suspicious activity report submitted by 

18 an operator to the Attorney General pursuant to 

19 paragraph (1) or (6) shall contain the following in20 formation: 

21 ‘‘(A) The name, address, telephone num22 ber, and e-mail address of the individual or en23 tity that is the subject of the report, to the ex24 tent known. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Any other information that is in the 

2 possession of the operator filing the report re3 garding the identification of the individual or 

4 entity that is the subject of the report. 

5 ‘‘(C) A copy of the documentary evidence 

6 and other information that led to the filing of 

7 the report pursuant to paragraph (1) or (6). 

8 ‘‘(D) A detailed description of the results 

9 of the account review conducted pursuant to 

10 paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(E) Such other information as the Attor12 ney General may by regulation prescribe. 

13 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY REPORTS.—Nothing in this section 

14 prevents an operator of a physical retail marketplace or 

15 online retail marketplace from voluntarily reporting to a 

16 Federal, State, or local government agency any suspicious 

17 activity that such operator believes is relevant to the pos18 sible violation of any law or regulation, provided that the 

19 operator also complies with the requirements of this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(d) STRUCTURING.—No individual or entity shall 

22 engage in structuring as defined in this section. 

23 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual or entity 

25 who knowingly commits a violation of, or knowingly 


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1 fails to comply with the requirements specified in, 

2 paragraph (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of subsection 

3 (b), or subsection (d), shall be liable to the United 

4 States Government for a civil penalty of not more 

5 than $10,000 per violation. 

6 ‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) INTENT TO INFLUENCE AN OPER8 ATOR.—Any person who knowingly makes any 

9 material false or fictitious statement or rep10 resentation with the intent to influence an oper11 ator of a physical retail marketplace or an oper12 ator of an online retail marketplace to file a 

13 suspicious activity report under subsection (b) 

14 shall be liable to the United States Government 

15 for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 per 

16 violation. 

17 ‘‘(B) SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORT.—Any 

18 person who knowingly and willfully makes any 

19 material false or fictitious statement or rep20 resentation in any suspicious activity report re21 quired under subsection (b) may, upon convic22 tion thereof, be subject to liability under section 

23 1001. 

24 ‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTION.—In any case in which the 

2 attorney general of a State has reason to believe 

3 that an interest of the residents of that State has 

4 been or is threatened or adversely affected by any 

5 person or entity who has committed or is committing 

6 a violation of this section, the attorney general, offi7 cial, or agency of the State, as parens patriae, may 

8 bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 

9 State in a district court of the United States of ap10 propriate jurisdiction— 

11 ‘‘(A) to enjoin further violation of this sec12 tion by the defendant; 

13 ‘‘(B) to obtain damages on behalf of the 

14 residents of the State in an amount equal to 

15 the actual monetary loss suffered by such resi16 dents; or 

17 ‘‘(C) to impose civil penalties in the 

18 amounts specified in subsection (e). 

19 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN NOTICE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall serve 

21 prior written notice of any civil action under 

22 paragraph (1) upon the Attorney General of the 

23 United States, including a copy of its com24 plaint, except that if it is not feasible for the 

25 State to provide such prior notice, the State 


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1 shall serve such notice immediately upon insti2 tuting such action. 

3 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION.—Upon 

4 receiving a notice respecting a civil action under 

5 subparagraph (A), the Attorney General of the 

6 United States shall have the right— 

7 ‘‘(i) to intervene in such action; 

8 ‘‘(ii) upon so intervening, to be heard 

9 on all matters arising therein; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) to file petitions for appeal. 

11 ‘‘(3) STATE POWERS PRESERVED.—For pur12 poses of bringing any civil action under this sub13 section, nothing in this chapter shall prevent an at14 torney general of a State from exercising the powers 

15 conferred on the attorney general by the laws of 

16 such State to conduct investigations or to administer 

17 oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of 

18 witnesses or the production of documentary and 

19 other evidence. 

20 ‘‘(4) PENDING FEDERAL ACTION.—Whenever a 

21 civil action has been instituted by the Attorney Gen22 eral of the United States for violation of any rule 

23 prescribed under subsection (e), no State may, dur24 ing the pendency of such action instituted by the At25 torney General of the United States, institute a civil 


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1 action under this subsection against any defendant 

2 named in the complaint in such action for any viola3 tion alleged in such complaint. 

4 ‘‘(5) JURISDICTION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any civil action 

6 brought under this subsection in a district court 

7 of the United States may be brought in the dis8 trict in which the defendant is found, is an in9 habitant, or transacts business or wherever 

10 venue is proper under section 1391 of title 28. 

11 ‘‘(B) PROCESS.—Process in an action 

12 under this subsection may be served in any dis13 trict in which the defendant is an inhabitant or 

14 in which the defendant may be found. 

15 ‘‘(g) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in 

16 this section shall be interpreted to authorize a private 

17 right of action for a violation of any provision of this sec18 tion, or a private right of action under any other provision 

19 of Federal or State law to enforce a violation of this sec20 tion.’’. 

21 (b) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The chapter analysis for 

22 chapter 113 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

23 by inserting after the item for section 2322 the following: 

‘‘2323. Online retail marketplaces.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW. 

2 No provision of this Act, including any amendment 

3 made by this Act, shall be construed as indicating an in4 tent on the part of Congress to occupy the field in which 

5 that provision or amendment operates, including criminal 

6 penalties, to the exclusion of any State law on the same 

7 subject matter that would otherwise be within the author8 ity of the State, unless there is a positive conflict between 

9 that provision or amendment and that State law so that 

10 the 2 cannot consistently stand together. 

11 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 The amendments made by this Act take effect 120 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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