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SACRAMENTO — Fourteen people were arrested in one of the nation’s largest recycling fraud cases for allegedly swindling millions of dollars from California’s recycling program by transporting discarded bottles and cans from outside the state and redeeming them in Los Angeles. 

The arrests announced Tuesday were made by the state attorney generals’ Bureau of Investigations and involved 10 law enforcement agencies. Those arrested were charged with conspiracy to commit recycling fraud, filing false documents, grand theft and unlawful recycling. If convicted, they could face up to eight years in prison. 

“These arrests should serve as a wake-up call for those who cheat the system. They will face the consequences of their actions,” said Darryl Young, the director of the state’s Department of Conservation. 

State officials said the ring was buying aluminum cans as scrap in states such as Nevada, Arizona and Utah that do not require a recycling deposit. The cans would then be taken to California recycling centers where deposit money is returned. 

Authorities said cans that could fetch about $950 a ton in some states are sold in California for about $2,490 a ton. 

California passed a law in 1986 that required customers to pay a deposit for drinks sold in aluminum, plastic and glass containers. The deposit is 2.5 cents for containers less than 24 ounces and 5 cents for those 24 ounces or larger. 

Buyers can recoup the deposits at state-licensed recycling centers where the containers are weighed and a redemption value paid. The state then reimburses the recycling center. 

Authorities said the ring would divide the cans into small lots and would go across Los Angeles to collect the redemption at a variety of recycling centers. Investigators believe the ring operated for about four years and recently began using cell phones to coordinate the shipments and contracted with trucking firms to take bottles and cans from other states.