Click image above to view Senator
Moody’s remarks
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Ashley Moody brought years of
experience revolutionizing how state and local law enforcement investigate
organized retail theft to Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the
matter. As Attorney General, Moody, utilized emerging technology, forged novel
partnerships and pushed for changes to state law to crackdown on massive retail
crime rings. Unfortunately, many poorly ran states and cities refuse to use
their executive authority to prosecute organized retail theft leading to once
beautiful cities resembling third-world countries. In the hearing, Senator
Moody pushed legislation to give federal prosecutors the tools to target
transnational organized retail theft rings to protect Americans.
Senator Ashley Moody said, “While most of the country
watched mobs storm L.A. stores and crime rings boldly target major retailers,
Florida dug in, utilizing new technology, forging novel partnerships and
strengthening state laws to make sure organized retail crime did not get a
foothold in Florida. It is time to bring the Florida approach to the federal
government to stop organized retail crime, protect consumers and keep prices
low for hardworking Americans especially as weak state leaders fail to enforce
the law.”
See Senator Moody’s full remarks here.
As Florida’s Attorney General, Senator
Moody:
Launched the Florida Organized Retail
Crime Exchange or FORCE with the Florida Retailers Federation. FORCE is a
first-of-its-kind statewide task force and interactive database used to help
people spot trends, identify suspects, and take down massive ORT rings, and the
database helps bridge the gap between retailers, law enforcement, and
prosecutors by providing shareable, searchable information on incidents of
theft statewide
Partnered with legislators in 2022 to
announce legislative efforts to help law enforcement and prosecutors dismantle
ORT rings
Fought for HB 549 in an effort to
enhance penalties for theft by offenders with previous convictions, as well as
increases the aggregate period for third-degree felony retail theft
Notable Organized Retail Theft Cases:
-Jan 2025: AG Moody’s Statewide
Prosecutors Charge Five Crime Ring Members for Stealing More Than $400,000 in
Organized Retail Theft Scheme
-April 2024: AG Moody Announces Arrest
of Five Members of Organized Retail Theft Ring
-Feb 2024: Attorney General Moody Files
Criminal Charges Against Three Thieves Operating Retail Theft Ring Stealing
More Than $100,000
-Nov 2023: AG Moody’s Office of
Statewide Prosecution Secures Eight-Year Sentence and $500,000 Restitution
Order for ORT Ringleader
-Oct 2023: Attorney General Moody’s
Statewide Prosecutors File Criminal Charges Against 14 South Florida Retail
Thieves for Causing $20 Million in Losses
-Oct 2023: AG Moody’s Statewide
Prosecutors Secure Seven-Year Sentence and $300,000 Restitution Order for
Leader of an Organized Retail Theft Ring Dealing in Stolen TVs from Walmart
-Aug 2023: Another Retail Theft Ring
Shut Down by AG Moody’s FORCE Taskforce
-Apr 2023: Organized Retail Theft Ring
Spanning 16 Counties
During Moody’s
time as Attorney General, her office secured convictions against more than 260 members of these
massive crime rings.
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