How Michigan Bottle Returns May Earn a Man 15 Years in Prison

A Michigan man allegedly committed bottle return fraud and if convicted could get up to 15 years in prison.

Michigan Bottle Returns

I remember being a little kid and my best friend Alan and I were so excited when we learned that bottles and cans would be worth 5 and 10 cents. This was in 1976 when people used to throw bottles and cans out everywhere and we saw this as a way to make money to buy candy because that's what little kids do.

The Bottle Bill didn't go into effect until 1978 and was intended to reduce roadside litter, while recycling aluminum and glass and to clean up our environment. My friend and I would ride around on our bikes and collect bags of bottles and cans. We used the money for fishing items, candy, and money to play pinball at the bowling alley.

From growing up through this bottle return generation, our Michigan roads look great. I remember what the streets looked like and things improved after all these years of bottle returns. My only beef with the system is when a machine doesn't accept a returnable bottle or can.

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One Michigan man allegedly thought he had found a way to beat the bottle return system and may get prison time for his plot.

How Michigan Bottle Returns May Earn a Man 15 Years in Prison

Oddly enough, a man who lives 20 minutes north of where I grew up collecting bottles and cans has allegedly committed bottle return fraud.

According to MLive, 34-year-old Namir Shango from Davison allegedly created fake bottle return slips to use at the Valley Liquor store in Mt. Morris.

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is involved in this alleged fraud case. Shango must have returned lots of bottles and can receipts because the felony is for a value of $50,000 to $100,000. If convicted he's looking at a potential 15-year prison sentence.