New Jersey man pleads guilty to leading $600 million catalytic converter theft ring

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty in Oklahoma federal court to leading a massive theft ring that stole catalytic converters from vehicles and sold them for more than $600 million in total to a refinery that extracted precious metals contained in the devices.

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.

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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.

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bythoughts said:

I just looked up Dowa Holdings. $300 billion market cap. Prosecutors wake up in cold sweats in the middle of the night, after a nightmare of having filed charges against somebody with that much money by accident.

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(6) for a used catalytic converter, in whole or in part, that is not attached to a motor vehicle at the time of sale or attempted sale, unless the seller is a registered business that, in the regular course of business, collects, stores, or sells a used catalytic converter or any other motor vehicle part:

(a) the Vehicle Identification Number of the motor vehicle from which the catalytic converter was taken; and

(b) a copy of the certificate of title or registration, a receipt from a transaction of repair, or a bill of sale for the motor vehicle from which the catalytic converter was taken;

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Chock Full o Nuts said:

May be correct.

But do they have the proper records on file for the converters? Forgot that's how they do it here as well.
Must show you owned it or legitimately obtained.

2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes :: Title 45 - Professions and Occupations :: Section 45:28-2 - Requirements for operator of scrap metal business.

Justia Free Databases of U.S. Laws, Codes & Statutes

law.justia.com

But period, red flags should have went up with that volume.

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Chock Full o Nuts said:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/22/guilty-plea-catalytic-convertor-theft-cars.html

www.cnbc.com

I knew it was bad, but damn, that's a lot of converters and a hell of an operation with scrap prices for them going for a decent amount to through the roof.


Should be forthcoming. Don't they have ID requirements for scrapping there? No way they could think one or even a dozen people, if he were employing others to spread out the turn ins, is legitimately bringing in that much regularly.

Or if they are, show that you are legit somehow. Maybe you run a shop that does nothing but replace converters!
Ok, show the receipts for your replacement inventory.

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