A guilty plea was entered yesterday by three Sacramento, California family members relating to charges that they participated in a nationwide catalytic converter theft conspiracy, according to U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.

Brothers Tou Sue Vang, 32, and Andrew Vang, 28, and their mother Monica Moua, 58, all pled guilty to conspiring to transport stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey in return for over $38 million in wired payments.

Tou Sue Vang also pled guilty to an additional 39 charges related to money laundering.

Last year, federal, state and local law enforcement across the United States partnered in “a coordinated takedown of leaders and associates of a national network of thieves, dealers and processors for their roles in conspiracies involving stolen catalytic converters sold to a metal refinery for over $600 million dollars.,” the announcement stated.

Nine of the 21 defendants were charged in the Eastern District of California.

Catalytic converters, part of an exhaust system that reduces toxic gas and pollutants from a vehicle’s engine, use precious metals in their center, or “core,” and are regularly targeted for theft due to their high value, especially the precious metals palladium, platinum and rhodium, the announcement noted. Some of them are more valuable per ounce than gold, and they continue to increase in value.

Easily stolen, sometimes in less than a minute, the black-market price for catalytic converters can run more than $1,000 each, depending on the vehicle and the state it is from.

Last year, an estimated 1,600 catalytic converters were reportedly stolen in California each month, and the state accounts for 37 percent of all catalytic converter theft claims nationwide.

Court documents indicate the defendants operated an unlicensed business from their residence in Sacramento where they bought stolen catalytic converters from local thieves and shipped them to DG Auto Parts LLC (DG Auto) in New Jersey for processing. The defendants allegedly sold over $38 million in stolen catalytic converters to DG Auto.

Also charged in the 2022 indictment were co-defendants Navin Khanna, aka Lovin Khanna, 40; Tinu Khanna, aka Gagan Khanna, 36; Daniel Dolan, 45; Chi Mo, aka David Mo, 37; Wright Louis Mosley, 50; and Ishu Lakra, 25, all based in New Jersey. They allegedly operated DG Auto in multiple locations in in the state.

Court documents allege they knowingly purchased stolen catalytic converters and, through a “de-canning” process, extracted the precious metal powders from the catalytic core.

DG Auto then sold the processed precious metal powder to a metal refinery for over $600 million.

The charges against them are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, the Sacramento Police Department, the Davis Police Department, the Auburn Police Department, the Livermore Police Department, and the San Bernardino County Sherriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica M.A. Alegría will be prosecuting the case.

Tou Sue Vang, Andrew Vang, and Monica Moua are not yet scheduled to be sentenced. Andrew Vang and Monica Moua each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The 40 counts to which Tou Sue Vang pleaded guilty carry various maximum penalties per count ranging from 20 years in prison to five years in prison, and fines that range from $500,000 to $250,000 per count or twice the gross gain or loss from the crimes. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.