3 RI Men Accused Of Stealing 100s of Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Catalytic Converter

CRANSTON, RI — Three Rhode Island men are facing charges in federal court after prosecutors said they stole and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of catalytic converters.

Kuron Mitchell, 25, of Newport, Alberto Rivera, 25, of Cranston, and Luis Aceituno, 27, of Providence, were charged with interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000 and conspiracy to commit the same. Additionally, Aceituno was charged with filing false tax returns.

According to prosecutors, in January 2022, the Cranston Police Department began tracking patterns surrounding the thefts of catalytic converters. Cranston police later identified a criminal group as being responsible for more than 7,000 stolen catalytic converters in Southern New England and in Greater Boston, valued at more than $2.4 million.

Prosecutors said many of the stolen catalytic converters were sold to a Providence company that recycles them. The company was not identified. Depending on the model and type of precious metal component, the average scrap price for catalytic converters ranged from $300 to $1,500.

According to charging documents, from at least January 2021 until November 2022, Rivera, Aceituno, Mitchell, and others canvassed neighborhoods and parking lots in search of unoccupied vehicles, from which they could steal catalytic converters. Working in groups, they targeted vehicles in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, cut off the catalytic converters, and sold many of them to the Providence company, prosecutors said.

An FBI analysis of the company's databases seized during a search of the business in February 2023, and a review of a database maintained by the Rhode Island Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Identification, revealed that from 2021 to 2022, Rivera sold 19 catalytic converters and received $7,100. Prosecutors said Aceituno sold 2,128 catalytic converters to the company and received $699,735.

Aceituno also failed to disclose to the IRS income derived from the sale of catalytic converters in tax years 2021 and 2022, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that for tax years 2021 and 2022, Aceituno failed to report a total of $699,735 in income and failed to pay $199,908 due to the IRS.

Aceituno appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday and was released on an unsecured bond. Mitchell appeared in U.S. District on April 25, 2024, and was ordered released to home detention with GPS monitoring. Rivera is currently detained on charges unrelated to this matter.

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