Venable partner Stu Ingis was quoted in a February 23, 2009 Bloomberg story about efforts by lawmakers to tightening the reporting rules for online auctioneers in order to prevent the fencing of stolen goods over the Internet.
On February 25, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), and representatives Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) of Virginia plan to submit three bills targeting the problem, congressional staffers said.
According to Ingis, the measures would strengthen federal penalties for organized retail crime and in some cases hold Internet companies responsible for offering stolen goods if they could have prevented the transactions. Ingis serves as counsel to the Coalition Against Organized Retail Crime, which includes retailers, drug makers and other consumer-product companies that support the measures.
U.S. retailers spend about $12 billion a year to prevent thefts, according to the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
If passed in their current form, the laws would require online outlets to monitor and report suspicious activity and maintain records for high-volume sellers for at least three years.