A carrier owner has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a recycling scheme which defrauded the state of California out of $16.1 million.
California charges customers an additional $.05 or $.10 on recyclable containers like bottles and cans. Consumers then get that money back when they recycle the containers. Arizona however doesn’t have a program like that. This means that if you have tons of worthless empty cans in Arizona and don’t mind breaking the law, you can bring them across the border to California and suddenly they’re worth money.
How much money? Well, when investigators searched just three locations where the company was loading beverage containers onto their trucks, they found 28,000 pounds of containers. In California, those would be redeemable for around $42,000.
Authorities spent five months investigating Bustillos Trucking. They found that the company was a front, created “for the sole purpose of smuggling out-of-state containers into California to defraud the California Redemption Value fund.” Over the course of just three years, the company raked in an estimated $16.1 million.
By the end of the investigation, three men were arrested. All three were charged with felony recycling fraud and attempted grand theft. They face up to three years in prison, fees, court-ordered restitution, and more.
Source: calrecycle, gobytrucknews, overdrive, abc15, ktla, kfyi, nbcsandiego
David says
LOL I guess they were just trying to get in on the free hand outs the California gives to those illegals. Some times you just have to work around the corners 🙂
Max says
I’ll bet you wouldn’t be laughing if they had ‘worked around the corner ‘ by stealing fuel from you. Stealing is stealing. Hopefully the judge will work some to recover some of this ill gained money as well as put them in a work program suc as picking up trash on the side of the road.
Cannuck says
These scams are as old as the deposit/return recycling schemes. The first aluminum can one was run in SK, and government idiots proudly bragged publicly about the 50%, the 70% then 90% recycle rate. They stopped bragging when it went over 110%
Jim says
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Cramer and the postal worker discovered they could use the post office vehicle at night to do the same thing. Picture bags of recycling in the back of the mail truck, driving at night to deliver for the .05 per can and bottle.
It was hilarious wat bing those two trying to pull that off. Imagine how the authorities must have been so shocked at such brazen attempt of theft. They must have been laughing at the individuals as they cuffed them.
art says
Tip of the iceberg.
Shame on politicians for allowing the fraud to occur.
Time to layoff some politicans to recover the losses.
Andrew H says
In Michigan, the UPC codes are different in carbonated beverages sold here. So you can’t take a can from Ohio and return it in Michigan using an automated recycling machine. You probably still could get away with doing it by hand.
Scott says
I wish I thought of this. Anything that screws over California and their trucker-hating government makes me happy.
Slim says
Tip of the iceberg…this is vastly overshadowed by the thousands of people who bring recyclables here to Kalifornia in pickups and trailers.
There is no reason for the high container deposits here as it has been proven that there is little or no environmental benefit.
It is NOT “stealing”…the politicians are the ones stealing from working people here…
mousekiller says
Cali didn’t like some one from other than Ca to find a way to rip off the govt.. It would have been Ok if the perpetrators were residents of ca. Then again CA wants to be their own country now too.
Eric says
I have sold cans in California hundreds of times. Never been a resident there. Never California license plate on my truck. When I get in the line selling there. Are many other Arizona license plates in front of me. Half the people in Blyth e. Have Arizona plates on their vehicles WHY ? Cause Cali registration cost 5 times what we pay in arizona
Sara says
The whole idea is to recycle. Arizona should recycle to benefit the state. There should not be any exempting recycles from any other state. Period. All states should except any and all states. We are recycling to better our planet and reuse the recycled items
Eric Rawlins says
We are? I don’t recycle… The trash companies make money for the work that citizens do by separating their own garbage. I don’t work for free, so I don’t recycle. Now if I receive a dividend for my labor then I would review the offer. Until then the garbage company can recycle what they want.
John says
There is no honor amoung thieves, so how does californicate think they are above the law. Best revenge is which thief gets ripped off first.
Sara says
I swear all those containers blew across the state line they were only being returned
Shar says
At Wal-Mart they check the top of your cans. It’s etched in the top of their cans. I bought 2 sodas on a work trip out of an IL machine and they caught both of them when I took them to Wal-Mart.
Lester says
yea California needs that money back to hand over to the illegal aliens, yet how many homeless Veterans are there In california ???
Matt says
Per capita? Almost guaranteed less than your state.
#redstatesarewelfarestates
Rawdog says
Back in the late 90s early 2000s the hippy band phish came to Maine and had a big concert, 90,000 people at the concert in a county that normally has 60,000 total people… anyway after all the hippies left I went up there and got truck loads of bottles and cans they left… plus all the other stuff I found laying around… I made bank on that deal . But after the first year the redemption centers were on the lookout for out of state cans ☹️
The unsilent majority says
No wonder some of drivers can’t make a few bucks with all the snitches and goody two shoes behind the wheel. The police did not just investigate from nothing and besides the Politicians are dirty, They are bribed by corrupt lobbyists paid by their IRS exempt corporate masters. Good for the drivers and small business owners who have found a way to run trucks in the black. I am not interested in being the guy in the little white hat. As long as I am not profiting off someone’s misery I have children to raise and can’t afford to be Mary frikin Poppins 24/7. America and trucking used to be about the underdog finding a will and a way to rise up. Now is dry snitchin scaredy cat neer do wells crying into 19.
SkinnerDiggs says
Yeah, but just think of all the sea creatures Cali is saving. They’re going to tout that extra percentage at election time.
dd says
wow the California government hates the competition when people find a peep hole and fires back like (carb) seems to me that’s also based on fraud