A New Jersey junk yard owner pled guilty in Oklahoma federal court to leading a theft ring that stole catalytic converters and sold them for more than $600 million to a refinery (Dowa Metals & Mining) that extracted precious metals contained in the devices.

the catalytic converter theft ring 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.

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.”

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

As part of his plea agreement, Khanna agreed to surrender almost $4 million in cash and 11 luxury vehicles, among them “Lamborghini, two Mercedes AMGs, two Ferraris, a McLaren, a Porsche, a Ford F650 Truck, and a BMW M3,” the Justice Department said

Authorities also seized “real estate properties, high-end jewelry, gold bars, and over 200 pallets of catalytic converters ... during the execution of search warrants at Khanna’s properties,” said the DOJ.

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

And no doubt in my mind, the DOJ will absorb those assets, and not reimburse the people who had their catalytic converters stolen