Ten arrested for attempts to defraud California deposit program

Nearly a dozen people were arrested in California recently for allegedly trying to defraud California's container deposit system.

An initial investigation uncovered what was described as "a Los Angeles-area undocumented [facility] suspected of collecting, storing, and illegally redeeming out-of-state beverage containers," the state Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery said. Authorities later discovered a second undocumented storage facility.

The alleged fraud included "mass shipment" of containers from Las Vegas to 12 recycling centers in the Los Angeles area, the state said.

"Consumers in other states do not pay CRV [California Redemption Value] on their beverage purchases, so any CRV redemption of out-of-state materials is theft and fraud," CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline said in a statement.

Search warrants executed in September led to the confiscation of 14,940 pounds of empty plastic containers and 10,978 pounds of aluminum with a combined CRV of nearly $37,000. Eight people were arrested in this case.

Officials believe the scheme allegedly cheated California out of "roughly $5 million," the state said.

A subsequent checkpoint in Needles, Calif., later in September resulted in the arrest of two drivers in separate incidents. They are suspected of transporting out-of-state containers into California. Those arrests resulted in the discovery of 9,224 pounds of empty plastic bottles and 10,456 pounds of aluminum with a combined redemption value of $28,665, the state said.