Monmouth County Man Pleads Guilty In $600M Catalytic Converter Theft Ring Case

HOLMDEL, NJ — A Holmdel man identified as the leader of a national catalytic converter theft ring pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to selling the stolen converters for over $600 million, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said.

Navin Khanna, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, authorities said.

Investigation that would later uncover Khanna’s activities began in 2020, when the Tulsa Police Department initiated an investigation in response to a drastic increase in catalytic converter thefts reported throughout Tulsa.

According to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, catalytic converters are bolted to the underside of vehicles as part of their exhaust system and neutralize harmful gases in the vehicle's engine exhaust.

These converters can contain precious metals such as platinum, rhodium, and palladium, which the bureau said are "more valuable than gold."

During police investigation into the catalytic converter thefts, authorities said search warrants were executed in Oklahoma, Texas, California, New Jersey and New York.

Federal grand juries in the Northern District of Oklahoma and the Eastern District of California indicted Khanna, and over 20 people throughout the country have been charged for their role in the conspiracy, Johnson said.

“Khanna’s theft ring took advantage of hard-working citizens in the Northern District of Oklahoma by stealing catalytic converters, rendering the vehicle unusable,” Johnson said. “I would like to thank the Tulsa Police Department and our law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts in bringing this senseless crime to justice.”

According to Johnson, Khanna admitted to being the owner and operator of D.G. Auto Parts – a criminal enterprise that bought and sold auto parts across the country.

From May 2020 to October 2022, prosecutors said Khanna conspired with others to purchase and transport large quantities of stolen catalytic converters from Oklahoma, Texas, and other states to New Jersey.

Khanna admitted to receiving over $600 million in reselling the stolen catalytic converters to a metal refinery that extracted the precious metals, according to authorities.

As part of a plea deal, officials said Khanna agreed to forfeit over $3 million in cash, over $800,000 from various checking accounts, several luxury vehicles, his interest in several real estate properties, high-end jewelry, gold bars, and over 200 pallets of catalytic converters seized during the execution of a warrant.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma has agreed that Khanna’s sentencing will be transferred to the Eastern District of California, where he awaits further prosecution for related crimes.

“Across the United States, thousands of people have had the catalytic converters cut off their parked cars because they contain valuable precious metals,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“Unable to extract the metals themselves, thieves sell the stolen parts to middlemen like the defendant and his co-conspirators, who use special equipment to crack the catalytic converters open,” Galeotti continued. “In the aggregate, the value of the stolen goods is worth enormous amounts ─ here more than $600 million.”

Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Tulsa Police Department, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wyandotte Nation Police Department led or contributed to the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nasar and Reagan Reininger lead the Northern District of Oklahoma’s prosecution with assistance from the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section’s Trial Attorney Cesar Rivera-Giraud and Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica M.A. Alegría of the Eastern District of California.

Previous Coverage

• Nationwide Catalytic Converter Theft Ring Busted; Holmdel Man Charged