(KGTV) – Members of a Southern California family were charged in what authorities are calling a $7.6 million recycling scheme.
In a news release, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) said investigators alleged eight family members who run recycling centers in Riverside County “illegally smuggled 178 tons of empty beverage containers from Arizona into Riverside County to defraud California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program.”
CalRecycle officials said a federal investigation that began in 2022 targeted several Riverside County recycling centers. Officials stated, “During an eight-month period, agents found the operators illegally redeemed $7.6 million on aluminum cans and plastic bottles smuggled from Arizona to sites in Riverside County.”
Multiple charges were filed by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation Recycle Fraud Team against the eight people accused in the case, and search warrants were served on six locations as part of the probe.
According to CalRecycle, $1,061,499 and other items were seized.
Under the state’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, those who bring bottles and cans to recycling centers can receive 5 or 10 cents per container. CalRecycle said, “Since consumers outside of California do not pay California Redemption Value (CRV) deposits on beverage purchases, those containers are not eligible for CRV redemption.”
