#NotMyAmerica: A Family That Made $7.6 MILLION By Recycling Cans And Bottles From Arizona In California Is Being Charged With Multiple Felonies For Defrauding California

ED JONES. Getty Images.

Yahoo- A California family that earned millions of dollars just by recycling cans and bottles has now been accused of multiple felonies that could lead to years behind bars.

In a felony complaint filed this month, state prosecutors charged eight family members in Riverside County with defrauding the state by importing used bottles and cans from Arizona — some 178 tons in 8 months — and recycling them in California.

The recycling operation earned the family $7.6 million, according to a statement from the office of California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta. Investigators also found a stash of "illegally imported beverage containers" worth another $1 million.

When someone purchases a plastic or aluminum bottle in California, they typically pay an extra 5 to 10 cents in "California Redemption Value," or CRV, which the consumer can get back by returning the items to one of the state's more than 1,200 recycling centers. Arizona has no such program.

"California's recycling program is funded by consumers, and helps protect our environment and our communities," Bonta said. "Those who try to undermine its integrity through criminal operations will be held accountable."

I'm sorry, is this America? If you can't dream of getting rich doing as little work as possible, what's the whole point of this great nation? Every single person who has ever noticed the difference in recycling prices between states printed on bottles and cans dreams about cashing in across the nearest border at one point of their life. Hell, the biggest show on the planet had an entire episode revolve around it back in the 90s.

If you load up your car full of old bottles and cans that will almost definitely have it smelling like a brewery for a week, you should be allowed to recycle everything wherever the hell you want. I don't care if it's 1 bottle and can or 178 TONS of bottles and cans, which is admittedly absurd. But being able to have the freedom to do something as absurd as that is why George Washington lifted all them weights and united all these states.

Which takes me to my closing argument. This family did nothing wrong. All they did was recycle to help save the Earth and earn some coin. It's not their fault Arizona doesn't care about Mother Nature enough to have even one (1) recycling center while the hippies in Cali have a bazillion. In fact, the lawyers that are trying to rob these people of their freedom and hard-earned cash are actually the ones that should be thrown in jail charges of treason and attempted murder of the American Dream.