Prosecutors say what the family did is fraud.
We have heard of extreme couponing. It doesn’t compare to this scheme to ‘save the planet’ and earn millions in what prosecutors call fraud and illegal.
In a felony complaint filed this month, state prosecutors charged eight family members in Riverside County with defrauding the state by importing used bottles and cans from Arizona — some 178 tons in 8 months — and recycling them in California.
The recycling operation earned the family $7.6 million, according to a statement from the office of California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta. Investigators also found a stash of “illegally imported beverage containers” worth another $1 million.
When someone purchases a plastic or aluminum bottle in California, they typically pay an extra 5 to 10 cents in “California Redemption Value,” or CRV, which the consumer can get back by returning the items to one of the state’s more than 1,200 recycling centers. Arizona has no such program.
“California’s recycling program is funded by consumers, and helps protect our environment and our communities,” Bonta said. “Those who try to undermine its integrity through criminal operations will be held accountable.”
— Read on www.yahoo.com/news/one-family-pocketed-7-6-221318711.html