Don’t Try this At Home!

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In a memorable episode of Seinfeld, two characters hatch a plot: instead of returning bottles in New York for a 5-cent refund, they round up a load of containers and run them to Michigan, where the return is double, at 10 cents each. Now Brian Everidge is accused of attempting to “return” more than 10,000 bottles from other states.

Questions:

1. Did Brian Everidge’s conduct go far enough to say he “attempted the crime, rather than was he just thinking about it?”
2. How is the deposit cost paid for in Michigan?
3. What happens if the deposit is not claimed?
4. Why was Kramer right that the Cost/Benefit just doesn’t add up? Explain.
5. Explain the illegality of this scam.

Source:
Felton, R. (2016). Man faces prison after allegedly trying to deposit 10,000 bottles in Michigan. The Guardian, July 24 (Retrievable online at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/24/michigan-bottle-deposit-recycling-seinfeld)