Congresswoman Torres Helps Lead Bipartisan CrackDown on Organized Retail Crime to Lower Local Costs

Congresswoman Torres Helps Lead Bipartisan CrackDown on Organized Retail Crime to Lower Local Costs

Washington, D.C - Today, Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35), a co-sponsor of H.R. 2853, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025, celebrated the passage of bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal efforts against organized retail theft, cargo theft, and supply chain crime.

The bill expands federal enforcement tools to target criminal organizations involved in large-scale theft operations, strengthens money laundering penalties tied to organized retail crime, and improves coordination between federal law enforcement agencies.

Organized Retail Crime costs California billions, resulting in $13 billion in stolen goods and $3 billion in lost tax revenue in 2021 alone. These losses directly impact local communities by diverting funds away from public services and increasing costs for residents through higher prices, rising insurance premiums, and lost wages, totaling a $19 billion hit to the state's economy. The scale of this issue is particularly high in the region, with the National Retail Federation recently ranking Los Angeles as the top city in the nation for retail crime.

"Organized retail crime hurts workers, small businesses, and families already struggling with high costs," said Congresswoman Torres. "These are not isolated thefts, they are coordinated criminal operations that drive up prices and threaten our communities. I proudly voted for and co-sponsored this bipartisan bill to give law enforcement stronger tools to crack down on these criminal networks."

The Organized Retail Crime Act would:

• Allow authorities to total stolen goods over a full year to trigger higher federal penalties, ensuring repeat offenders face significant consequences.

• Tie retail theft to money laundering laws, enabling the government to seize cars, cash, and property purchased with stolen profits.

• Expand federal oversight to include gift cards and prepaid cards, cutting off the primary method these rings use to "wash" stolen money.

• Establish a Department of Homeland Security task force to provide local police with the data needed to track stolen property moving across state lines.

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