‘Seinfeld’-Like Michigan Can Deposit Scam Ends In Plea

A famous episode of “Seinfeld” features characters Kramer and Newman scheming about returning beverage cans worth a nickel in New York and trucking them to Michigan, where the deposit is 10 cents. But a recently resolved case in Michigan wasn’t a plot dreamed up by comedy show writers, but an actual scam in which a Flint man returned more than 10,000 out-of-state, non-refundable cans for the dime deposit, authorities said.

John Custer Woodfill, 70, pleaded guilty in Genesee County 7th District Court Monday to charges related to the scam, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Wednesday. Woodfill will be sentenced on May 2.

“This was not a one-time nickel-and-dime case,” Schuette said in a news release. “This man orchestrated bogus refunds for tens of thousands of non-returnable beverage containers. In effect he stole from Michigan’s bottle return program that has long served to protect and promote a healthy environment. His actions also negatively affected distributors, merchants and even consumers who carry much of the burden in making the program work.”

Acting on an informant’s tip, Michigan State Police discovered that from April 2012 to April 2015, Woodfill bought uncrushed non-returnable cans in Indiana, which doesn’t have a deposit law, and immediately began returning them to Michigan with the help of a now-deceased partner, Schuette said.

The partner relocated to Brownstown, Indiana, where he operated a beverage can recycling business that bought locally non-refundable pop and beer cans for 60 to 80 cents a pound, according to Schuette. The cans were then hauled back to Flint by Woodhill, where he developed a network to return them throughout lower Michigan to collect the 10 cents per container, according to the release.

Woodfill also created phony labels to give the cans the appearance of a proper bar code for automatic return machines, the attorney general said.

As part of his plea agreement, Woodfill forfeited the van and trailer he used to haul the cans from Indiana. He also will be required to pay $400,000 in restitution to the state, according to the release.

Below is a clip from the “Seinfeld” episode:

Photo by Karen via Flickr Commons