Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel created the FORCE team and Organized Retail Crime Unit in April 2023 to focus on criminal organizations that target retailers by stealing products to repackage and sell for profit in both illicit and legal, physical, and digital marketplaces.
The FORCE team is a first of its kind in the nation task force focused on rooting out organized retail crime across the State of Michigan, and is comprised of two full time assistant attorneys general working alongside three special agents from the Department of Attorney General, three detective troopers from the Michigan State Police, State Police intelligence and financial fraud analysts, and a special agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This team is housed within the Department of Michigan State Police and operates out of their facilities in Metro Detroit.
The team also works intimately with various local law enforcement agencies and retailer loss prevention specialists.
In only its first operational year, the FORCE team has charged 41 defendants in 13 cases representing nearly $13 million in losses to Michigan businesses. They have achieved 10 convictions to date, recovered over $8 million in product, seized nearly $2 million in cash, and negotiated $4.4 million in court ordered restitution.
The continued success of this “one-of-a-kind” unit is driven by the private-public partnerships between law enforcement and retail corporations. Recent corporate partners on investigations have included Sam’s Club/Walmart, Meijer, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Rite-Aid, Lululemon, Ulta, Best Buy, and Lowe’s.
We encourage all Michigan retailers to reach out to the Attorney General’s FORCE team to establish a direct line of communication and be formally introduced to team members.
Contact AG FORCE team at: MSP-FORCE@michigan.gov
Note from MRA:
In summer 2022, MRA’s three-pronged approach to curb Organized Retail Crime (ORC) activity was signed into law, protecting both retailers and consumers in the marketplace. This included the INFORM Act, strengthening ORC penalties by adding ORC as a racketeering offense, and a $3.5M budget line item to create an ORC unit (the new FORCE team) under the Attorney General.
We appreciate the hard work and professional dedication the FORCE Team, AG Nessel, the Michigan State Police, and other partners have put into investigating and charging these organized criminal rings.
