A New Jersey scrap dealer who built a nationwide pipeline for stolen catalytic converters — buying more than $38 million worth of parts stolen largely out of the Sacramento region alone — has pleaded guilty in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Key Points

• Navin Khanna, 42, of Holmdel, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on February 27, 2026, to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines and conspiracy to commit promotional money laundering, according to the Justice Department’s announcement.
• Khanna ran a company called DG Auto that purchased more than $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters nationwide between October 2019 and March 2024, with over $38 million of that total traced specifically to the Sacramento area, per the IRS Criminal Investigation division’s mirror of the release.
• Prosecutors say Khanna’s Sacramento supply chain ran through Tou Vang and his family’s operation, Vang Auto, which shipped pallets of stolen converters weighing over 1,000 pounds — often loaded with high-value units pulled from Toyota Prius models — across state lines to Khanna’s operation.
• Investigators say Khanna was so entrenched in the Prius converter trade that he had the part’s own manufacturer code, “GD3EA6,” put on a vanity license plate for his McLaren, according to the DOJ release.

What the Case Shows

• Thirteen people were ultimately charged in the scheme — ten from New Jersey and three from California — and Vang, the Sacramento-area supplier, has already been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, per the Justice Department.
• Khanna’s sentencing is still pending before U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins, according to the same release.
• The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Sacramento Police Department, Davis Police Department, Auburn Police Department, Livermore Police Department and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica M.A. Alegría and Trial Attorney César S. Rivera-Giraud of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.

How Owners Can Protect Their Vehicles

• Have your vehicle identification number etched onto your catalytic converter — it makes stolen parts traceable and far less attractive to buyers like the ones in this case.
• Park in a garage or a well-lit, camera-covered area whenever possible, since converter theft is typically an opportunistic, fast crime.
• Owners of Toyota Priuses and other vehicles with high-precious-metal converters should consider an aftermarket shield or cage, given how often those specific models turned up in this scheme.

Catalytic converter theft has plagued drivers nationwide for years because the parts contain small amounts of platinum, palladium and rhodium, and cases like this one show how a handful of buyers on the East Coast can turn scattered local thefts into a nine-figure criminal pipeline.