21 Charged in Nationwide Bust of Catalytic Converter Theft Ring
Federal law enforcement officials announced this week the arrest and/or charges of 21 individuals from five states for their roles in conspiracies involving stolen catalytic converters sold to a metal refinery.
The Justice Department is seeking forfeiture of over $545 million in connection with the wide-ranging conspiracy, with this week’s arrests, searches, and seizures taking place in California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Catalytic converters are a part of a vehicle’s exhaust system that clean vehicle emissions. The converters have within them precious metals, some of which have higher values per ounce than gold, such as palladium, platinum, and rhodium. Thieves can steal a converter from a vehicle in less than a minute and resell them for $1,000 or more, depending on the vehicle and state it came from, according to the Justice Department release on the takedown. The converters are hard to track or identify because they lack unique markers such as serial numbers or VIN information.
“This national network of criminals hurt victims across the country,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “They made hundreds of millions of dollars in the process—on the backs of thousands of innocent car owners. Today’s charges showcase how the FBI and its partners act together to stop crimes that hurt all too many Americans.”
According to court documents and the federal grand jury indictment in the Eastern District of California charging nine defendants with conspiracy to transport stolen converters, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and related crimes stolen catalytic converters were bought from thieves and shipped to DG Auto Parts LLC (DG Auto) in New Jersey for processing. One family in California was allegedly sold over $38 million in stolen catalytic converters to DG Auto. Six additional defendants operated DG Auto locations in multiple locations through New Jersey, and sold the precious extracted metals from California and elsewhere to a metal refinery for over $545 million.
“With California’s higher emission standards, our community has become a hot bed for catalytic converter theft,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “Last year approximately 1,600 catalytic converters were reportedly stolen in California each month, and California accounts for 37% of all catalytic converter theft claims nationwide. I am proud to announce that we have indicted nine people who are at the core of catalytic theft in our community and nationwide.”
In the Northern District of Oklahoma, a federal grand jury returned a 40-count indictment charging 13 defendants with conspiracy to transport stolen catalytic converters, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and related crimes stolen. According to court documents, the defendants bought stolen converters from thieves, and then re-sold and shipped them to DG Auto in New Jersey for processing. One defendant, Adam G. Sharkey, received over $45 million in wired funds from DG Auto. Another defendant, Tyler James Curtis, received over $13 million from DG Auto.
“In Tulsa alone, more than 2,000 catalytic converters were stolen in the past year,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma. “Organized criminal activity, including the large-scale theft of catalytic converters, is costly to victims and too often places citizens and law enforcement in danger. The collective work conducted by federal prosecutors and more than 10 different law enforcement agencies led to the filing of charges in the Northern District of Oklahoma against 13 defendants operating an alleged catalytic converter theft operation.”
“Just like the precious metal inside every catalytic converter, there’s a money trail at the core of every criminal scheme,” said Chief Jim Lee of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Our IRS-CI special agents and partners are incredibly well-versed at unraveling financial trails, and this case is not unique. There are real victims here – friends, neighbors, and businesses – and our hope is that today’s arrests will deter similar criminal activity.”
“We will continue to work alongside our state and local partners to disrupt criminal conspiracies like this one that target the American people,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.