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Various defendants were accused in separate indictments unsealed
in Sacramento, California, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, of crimes such
as transporting and receiving stolen goods across state lines,
and conspiring to commit money laundering.
Catalytic converters are vehicle exhaust devices that convert
toxic gases into safer emissions.
They can be stolen in less than one minute, often lack
identification details that can make them easier to track, and
can fetch more than $1,000 on the black market.
The U.S. Department of Justice said many stolen converters were
sold to DG Auto Parts LLC of Freehold, New Jersey, which
allegedly sold precious metal powders it extracted from the
devices through a "de-canning" process to a metal refinery for
more than $545 million.
Authorities are seeking the forfeiture of that sum, after
seizing other assets including homes, bank accounts, luxury
vehicles and cash. Attorney General Merrick Garland said 32
search warrants were executed in the takedown. The alleged
scheme began about three years ago, prosecutors said.
"This national network of criminals hurt victims across the
country," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
"They made hundreds of millions of dollars in the process -- on
the backs of thousands of innocent car owners."
DG Auto markets itself as that state's leading buyer of
catalytic converters. Its owner Navin Khanna, 39, was charged in
both indictments.
The company did not answer calls seeking comment and was not
accepting messages during business hours. Khanna could not
immediately be located for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sandra
Maler)
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