Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is launching an inquiry to better protect Georgia businesses from organized retail theft.
Sen. Ossoff recently urged the Department of Justice to strengthen investigations and stop organized retail theft.
“I write to request information on DOJ’s efforts to combat organized retail crime (ORC) and to urge federal law enforcement to comprehensively respond to these criminal networks,” Sen. Ossoff wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland. “ORC threatens the safety of Georgia’s retail workers and customers.”
According to a May Congressional Research Service report, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) does not collect data on theft that separates organized retail theft from other types of theft.
According to a report issued by Retail Industry Leaders Association and Buy Safe America Coalition,Georgia businesses are estimated to lose over $3 billion annually to retail theft. This includes $1.6 billion in stolen goods and $326 million in lost tax revenue, along with 17,000 lost jobs, the report said.
“To effectively fight ORC, we must understand its scope and impact,” Sen. Ossoff continued. “Therefore, I request information regarding the Department of Justice’s efforts to identify, evaluate the impacts of, and stop ORC.”
Sen. Ossoff continues working to protect Georgia businesses.
Last month, in a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Sen. Ossoff pressed USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — under oath — for specific answers and solutions to the continued delays Georgia families and businesses face getting mail and packages on-time.
Last year, Sen. Ossoff and a group of U.S. Senators urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate deceptive marketing and advertising practices by predatory tax promoters who preyed on small businesses with false claims about the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC).
Last year, Sen. Ossoff held a press conference in Decatur to brief Georgia veterans and small business owners on his bipartisan Investing in VETS Act, signed into law as part of the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act, that will require the Federal government to award at least 5 percent of its contracts to small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s inquiry with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
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