Organized retail theft; report; penalty. Establishes the crime of organized retail theft that makes it a Class 3 felony for any person who conspires or acts in concert with another person to commit simple larceny of retail property from one or more retail mercantile establishments, with a value exceeding $5,000 aggregated over a 90-day period, with the intent to sell such retail property for monetary or other gain, and who takes or causes such retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person and either (i) receives or possesses any retail property that has been obtained by simple larceny from one or more retail mercantile establishments while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe the property was unlawfully obtained or (ii) conspires or acts in concert with two or more other persons as an organizer, supervisor, financier, leader, or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to effectuate the transfer or sale of property obtained by simple larceny from one or more retail mercantile establishments. The bill defines the terms retail mercantile establishment, retail property, and retail property fence. The bill also establishes the Organized Retail Crime Fund to be administered by the Attorney General solely for the purposes of awarding grants to attorneys for the Commonwealth and law-enforcement agencies to investigate, indict, and prosecute violations of organized retail theft and associated fraud and property crimes. This bill is identical to HB 1885.

Statutes affected:
Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23101935D: 18.2-46.1, 18.2-137, 18.2-513
Senate: Committee substitute printed 23104438D-S1: 18.2-46.1, 18.2-513
Senate: Floor substitute printed 23106361D-S2 (Surovell): 18.2-46.1, 18.2-513
House: Committee substitute printed 23106694D-H1: 18.2-46.1, 18.2-137, 18.2-513
House: Floor substitute printed 23107160D-H2 (Byron): 18.2-46.1, 18.2-513
Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1396ER): 18.2-46.1, 18.2-513
Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0358): 18.2-46.1, 18.2-513