Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
The bill would expand federal criminal law to more easily prosecute organized retail and cargo theft, letting prosecutors add up stolen goods worth $5,000 or more over a 12-month period, adding these crimes as money-laundering predicates, and authorizing forfeiture of criminal proceeds.
It would also direct the Department of Homeland Security to stand up a new coordination center, housed at Homeland Security Investigations, to unite federal, state, local, and private-sector efforts against organized theft rings for the next seven years.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend federal criminal law to strengthen prosecution of organized retail and supply chain crime. It would let prosecutors charge interstate transportation or sale/receipt of stolen goods (18 U.S.C. §§ 2314, 2315) based on the aggregate value of stolen items totaling $5,000 or more over any 12-month period, rather than requiring a single high-value theft. It would add these offenses, along with cargo theft from interstate shipments (§ 659), as predicate offenses for money-laundering prosecutions and would expand the money-laundering statute to cover general-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, and store gift cards. It would also authorize criminal forfeiture of property obtained from these crimes. Separately, the bill would direct DHS to establish, within 90 days of enactment, an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center to coordinate investigations, share threat information with retailers and law enforcement, and track crime trends, with its authority sunsetting after seven years. It would also require DHS and the Justice Department to evaluate existing grant and training programs and report to Congress.
Key provisions
- 1Would allow prosecution under stolen-goods statutes based on the aggregate value of items stolen over a 12-month period, if $5,000 or more
- 2Would add organized retail and cargo theft offenses as predicate crimes for federal money-laundering prosecutions
- 3Would expand the money-laundering statute's monetary-instrument definition to include general-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, and store gift cards
- 4Would authorize criminal forfeiture of property derived from organized retail and supply chain crime offenses
- 5Would require DHS to establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within 90 days of enactment, with authority sunsetting after seven years
- 6Would require DHS and the Attorney General to evaluate existing federal grant and training programs for combating organized retail crime and report findings to Congress
Who would be affected
Federal prosecutors and investigators (FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Secret Service, ATF, DEA, Postal Inspection Service), state and local law enforcement partners, retailers and transportation companies that would share threat data with the new center, and individuals or organized groups charged with retail, cargo, or supply chain theft.
Why it matters
Retailers and shippers facing rising organized theft losses could see more federal prosecutions, since aggregating smaller thefts over a year makes it easier to meet felony thresholds and pursue money-laundering and forfeiture charges. A dedicated DHS center could improve coordination among agencies that currently investigate these crimes separately, though the new center's authority would expire after seven years absent further action.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(5) (criminal forfeiture) (Sec. 3)
Adds sections 659, 2314, and 2315 as offenses subject to criminal forfeiture of proceeds.
Amends 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (money laundering) (Sec. 3)
Adds prepaid cards and gift certificates to covered instruments and adds theft/cargo statutes as predicate offenses.
Amends 18 U.S.C. § 2314 (transportation of stolen goods) (Sec. 3)
Allows prosecution based on aggregate value of $5,000 or more over a 12-month period and adds embezzlement and other illegal means.
Amends 18 U.S.C. § 2315 (sale or receipt of stolen goods) (Sec. 3)
Allows prosecution based on aggregate value of $5,000 or more over a 12-month period.
Amends Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4341 et seq.) (Sec. 4)
Adds a new section 305A establishing the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center at DHS.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for DHS to establish the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center
- Deadline for DHS to submit initial report on establishment of the Center
- Deadline for DHS and DOJ to evaluate existing federal grant and training programs
- Sunset of the Center's authority
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 2853 would cost $114 million in discretionary spending over the 2026–2031 period, with a negligible effect on the deficit from direct spending and revenues over the 2026–2036 period.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2853 would require $114 million in spending subject to appropriation (i.e., discretionary funding that Congress must approve annually) over the 2026–2031 period — roughly $20 million per year — primarily to staff a new organized retail crime coordination center within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The bill would also generate new criminal penalties and asset forfeitures, which count as federal revenues and are later spent from dedicated funds without further appropriation, but CBO estimates those effects would each be less than $500,000 over the 2026–2036 period, making the net effect on the deficit negligible. CBO found no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
DHS would direct Homeland Security Investigations' Executive Associate Director to stand up the coordination center within 90 days, staffed by detailees from agencies including the FBI, Secret Service, ATF, DEA, and Postal Inspection Service, plus optional state and local detailees. The center would share threat information with retailers and transportation companies, support state and local investigations, and issue annual public trend reports. DHS must report to four congressional committees within a year of enactment and annually thereafter, and DHS and the Attorney General must jointly evaluate existing training and grant programs, report results, and issue guidance on expanding assistance—all before the center's authority sunsets after seven years.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
This bill expands federal enforcement of criminal offenses related to organized retail and supply chain crime. The term organized retail and supply chain crime includes criminal offenses involving the interstate transportation of stolen property, the sale or receipt of stolen goods, or theft from an interstate or foreign shipment that is committed by, in coordination with, or at the instruction of an organization.
First, with respect to criminal offenses involving the interstate transportation of stolen property or the sale or receipt of stolen goods, the bill broadens the scope of conduct that qualifies as offenses by allowing prosecutions to be based on the aggregate value of stolen items over a 12-month period. Additionally, the bill makes the offenses predicate offenses (i.e., underlying offenses) for prosecutions under the federal money laundering statute and authorizes the criminal forfeiture of any property obtained from the proceeds of an offense.
Second, with respect to criminal offenses involving theft from an interstate or foreign shipment, the bill also makes an offense an underlying offense for prosecution under the federal money laundering statute and authorizes the criminal forfeiture of any associated property.
Third, the bill expands the federal money laundering statute to include offenses involving general-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, or store gift cards.
Finally, the bill temporarily establishes a center within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate federal law enforcement activities related to organized retail and supply chain crime.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Crime and Law Enforcement; Crimes against property; Criminal procedure and sentencing; Department of Homeland Security; Executive agency funding and structure; Internet, web applications, social media; Organized crime; Retail and wholesale trades; Supply chain
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-471