New Jersey man pleads guilty to leading $600 million catalytic converter theft ring
The defendant, Navin Khanna, is the latest person to plead guilty in connection with the ring, which was exposed after police in Tulsa, Oklahoma discovered nearly 130 catalytic converters in the bed of a truck they stopped in May 2021, after an off-duty officer reported suspicions about the vehicle.
That stop came during a nationwide surge of thefts in catalytic converters, which are part of the exhaust systems of automobiles, and which contain precious metals including platinum, palladium and rhodium.
The Justice Department said that Khanna, 41, on Monday admitted to being the owner and operator of D.G. Auto Parts in New Jersey, and from May 2020 through October 2022, "he conspired with others to purchase and transport large quantities of stolen catalytic converters from Oklahoma, Texas, and other states to New Jersey."
In a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, Khanna said, "After purchasing these catalytic converters, I resold most of them to Dowa Metals & Mining, a metal refinery, which would then extract the powdered precious metals."
CNBC has requested comment from Dowa Metals, whose website says that its Burlington, New Jersey, facility "has played a key role in converter recycling in America since 2016."
Dowa Metals is a subsidiary of Japan-based Dowa Holdings Co ., which is a component of the Nikkei 225 stock market index. The company has not been charged in connection with Khanna's case.
Khanna pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to receive, possess, and dispose of stolen goods in interstate commerce and five counts of money laundering, stemming from his participation in the stolen goods scheme.
The Holmdel, New Jersey resident faces a maximum possible sentence of between 14 years and 17-and-a-half years in prison.
An attorney for Khanna did not immediately reply to a request for comment from CNBC.
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