Bill Text: MI HB4598 | 2025-2026 | 103rd Legislature | Chaptered

Michigan House Bill 4598

Bill Title: Crimes: organized; gift card fraud; provide for. Amends sec. 4 of 2012 PA 455 (MCL 752.1084).

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2026-10-06 - Assigned Pa 109'26 With Immediate Effect [HB4598 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2025-HB4598-Chaptered.html

Act No. 109

Public Acts of 2026

Approved by the Governor

October 5, 2026

Filed with the Secretary of State

October 5, 2026

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 3, 2027

state of michigan

103rd Legislature

Regular session of 2026

Introduced by Reps. Harris, B. Carter, Rigas, BeGole, Roth, Linting, T. Carter, Bierlein, Schuette, DeBoyer, Aragona, Tisdel, Kunse, Robinson, Steckloff, McFall, Pohutsky, Koleszar, Fitzgerald, Wooden, Foreman, Rheingans, Longjohn, Breen, Arbit, Weiss, Martus, Witwer, Neeley, Tate, O�Neal, Hope, Hoskins, Rogers, Wilson, Morgan, Dievendorf, Byrnes, Glanville, Mueller, Mentzer, Slagh, Outman, Neyer, Frisbie, Prestin, Bohnak, Schmaltz, Wozniak, Meerman, Green and Beson

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4598

AN ACT to amend 2012 PA 455, entitled �An act to prohibit organized retail crime and to provide penalties for that crime; to provide for forfeiture of and restitution for stolen retail merchandise in certain circumstances; to create the organized retail crime advisory board and to prescribe its powers and duties; and to provide for the administration of this act,� by amending section 4 (MCL 752.1084).

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 4. (1) A person is guilty of organized retail crime if that person, alone or in association with another person, does any of the following:

(a) Knowingly commits an organized retail crime.

(b) Organizes, supervises, finances, or otherwise manages or assists another person in committing an organized retail crime.

(c) Removes, destroys, deactivates, or knowingly evades any component of an antishoplifting or inventory control device to prevent the activation of that device or to facilitate another person in committing an organized retail crime.

(d) Conspires with another person to commit an organized retail crime.

(e) Receives, purchases, or possesses retail merchandise for sale or resale knowing or believing the retail merchandise to be stolen from a retail merchant.

(f) Uses any artifice, instrument, container, device, or other article to facilitate the commission of an organized retail crime act.

(g) Knowingly causes a fire exit alarm to sound or otherwise activate, or deactivates or prevents a fire exit alarm from sounding, in the commission of an organized retail crime or to facilitate the commission of an organized retail crime by another person.

(h) Knowingly purchases a wireless telecommunication device using fraudulent credit, knowingly procures a wireless telecommunications service agreement with the intent to defraud another person or to breach that agreement, or uses another person to obtain a wireless telecommunications service agreement with the intent to defraud another person or to breach that agreement.

(i) Knowingly and with the intent to defraud does any of the following:

(i) Acquires possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information.

(ii) Alters or tampers with a gift card or gift card redemption information or exploits a gift card holder, issuer, or seller.

(iii) Obtains money, goods, services or any other thing of value with a gift card or gift card redemption information that was acquired in violation of this subdivision.

(2) Organized retail crime is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of $5,000.00, or both.

(3) If the true owner of stolen retail merchandise cannot be identified, the retail merchandise, and any proceeds from the sale or resale of that merchandise, is subject to forfeiture to the state for use by the board in the performance of its duties. The court shall order forfeiture of the retail merchandise in the manner and on terms and conditions as determined by the court to be appropriate.

(4) The court shall order a person who is found guilty of organized retail crime to make restitution to any retail merchant victim in the manner provided in the William Van Regenmorter crime victim�s rights act, 1985 PA 87, MCL 780.751 to 780.834, and to reimburse the governmental entity for its expenses incurred as a result of the violation of this act in the manner provided in section 1f of chapter IX of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 769.1f.

(5) It is not a defense to a charge under this section that the property was not stolen, embezzled, or converted property at the time of the violation if the property was explicitly represented to the accused person as being stolen, embezzled, or converted property.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.