Under Organized Retail Theft, merchandise explicitly represented to be stolen is included as part of the offense.

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Only if sold
• D. Only if damaged

Answer: (A)

Organized Retail Theft targets a coordinated scheme to move or profit from stolen goods, and the statute treats merchandise that is explicitly represented as stolen as part of the offense. The explicit representation to be stolen signals involvement in the theft scheme and satisfies the offense’s participation element even if the goods aren’t proven to be actually stolen at the moment. This means someone handling items that a co-conspirator says are stolen can be guilty under this law, because the representation itself ties the conduct to the organized theft operation. It isn’t limited to goods that are sold or damaged; the representation to be stolen can be enough to meet the offense.