Three members of a California family have pleaded guilty to their roles in operating a $600 million nationwide catalytic converter theft ring over the past three years. [00:00:15] Now, before we get into the details of this case, here's a video explaining the catalytic converter theft situation in the country and why it's become more and more common. >> Speaker 2: This surveillance video showing thieves stealing nine catalytic [00:00:31] converters from school buses in New Jersey at this RV storage facility near Dallas. They moved with breathtaking efficiency. >> I guess they look at as a shopping mall of catalytic converters. >> Speaker 2: The converters are embedded in the exhaust systems of most cars and trucks, making auto emissions less harmful. [00:00:47] They contain precious metals including rhodium, palladium, and platinum, whose value has skyrocketed in recent years. >> Speaker 1: So the catalytic converter itself is not the valuable item, it's the precious metals inside the catalytic converters, [00:01:03] which as you heard in that video, include palladium, platinum and rhodium. These metals can be more valuable than an ounce of gold, which is insane. And the price for a stolen catalytic converter can vary based on the model and the location in which the thieves are selling them. [00:01:21] But the parts generally cost somewhere between $1000 to $3,000. So if you've been victimized with a catalytic converter theft and you have to replace it, if your insurance doesn't cover it, you're gonna have to pay a nice chunk of change. [00:01:37] And depending on what kind of model vehicle you have, there could be a long wait because there are backorders for catalytic converters. Luckily though, there has been a nationwide crackdown on these crime rings, and I love to hear it. And I love to hear that some of these individuals who have been caught [00:01:54] have pleaded guilty. So in October and November of 2022, federal, state, and local law enforcement partners from across the United States executed a nationwide coordinated takedown of leaders and associates of a national network of thieves, [00:02:10] dealers, and processors for their roles in conspiracies involving stolen catalytic converters sold to a metal refinery for over $600 million. Now, nine of those 21 defendants, unsurprisingly, if you ask me, were charged in the eastern district of California. [00:02:29] Why do I say it's unsurprising? Because at some point, California just decided to let criminals do whatever they want. And people decided, it's a great opportunity to make money by being thieves. And that's exactly what happened here. Brothers Tou Sue Vang, 32 years old, and Andrew Vang, [00:02:45] 28 years old, and their mother, Monica Moua, 58, all pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey in return for over 38 million in wired payments. [00:03:01] Tou Sue Vang also pleaded guilty to an additional 39 charges related to money laundering. Also charged in the 2022 indictment were six co-defendants, all of New Jersey, all from New Jersey, [00:03:16] who operated DG Auto in multiple locations in New Jersey. According to court documents, they knowingly purchased stolen catalytic converters and through a de-canning process, extracted the precious metal powders from the catalytic core. [00:03:32] So here's some more on the co-defendants, which included several other individuals. If you're wondering what kind of lifestyle they were living as they were engaging in these thefts, maybe they were just down on their luck, maybe they had no choice. [00:03:48] They needed to feed their families, so they stole from their neighbors and the people around them. Maybe that's the case, except, no, that wasn't the case. >> Speaker 1: Justice department says they've taken down a nationwide crime ring involving the theft of catalytic converters. [00:04:03] >> Speaker 3: This is a national takedown involving the FBI, the IRS, homeland security raids, and arrests in eight states. 21 arrests, all told, as you said, forfeitures in the neighborhood of half a billion dollars. And this is a distribution ring, these people are accused of reselling catalytic [00:04:23] converters they knew were stolen and they made a lot of money. So the feds have seized luxury cars. One of these defendants actually has an Instagram account with a picture wearing a necklace with a catalytic converter on it. >> Speaker 2: The defendants charged today are accused of buying the stolen [00:04:40] converters where they go for $1,000 on the black market. One of the accused, Naveen Khana, posted a photo of a catalytic converter necklace with a winking face emoji on social media. Authorities raided his $1.7 million New Jersey home. [00:04:57] >> Speaker 1: People living in $1.7 million New Jersey homes really down on their luck, they need to feed their children Waz. So I don't know if it makes sense to prosecute this poor guy, but I personally love that he was prosecuted, and I love that some of these individuals have already pleaded guilty. [00:05:13] What are your thoughts? >> Speaker 4: Man so many thoughts go through my mind, honestly, because the sort of carjacking, car thefts, car burglarizing, those crimes have shot way the hell up in California. [00:05:31] And somebody like me who grew up in the 90s where your parents would get out the car and take the face of their freaking car stereo out every single time because they was afraid a crackhead would steal it, I was kind of baffled, honestly, Anna thinking, what are these people taking? [00:05:49] Oftentimes they're taking people's laptops and things like that out of the cars. And I guess you could sell that for a small, little profit, but this is real, actual money. The thought being like, it's guys that are down in their luck and [00:06:05] jacking all of these cars and doing this. This is a multimillion dollar, tens and hundreds of million dollar crime ring. And honestly, if I were to guess, I would venture to guess that that's why this stuff is getting prosecuted. This is very splashy. [00:06:21] We know the feds, we know the DOJ, they love a money laundering. They love when they could tell people, this involved this and that. This is a really splashy case. So I'm not surprised that federal resources went into stopping it. I don't know if this is necessarily a recipe for [00:06:39] stopping the rest of the car crimes that happen in the state. >> Speaker 1: That's a great point, and I love that you mentioned that. It's perfect, Segue Way to the second part of the story that I wanna share with you all, because there are two states that I think we should compare. There's California, which to California's credit, they're finally [00:06:58] starting to take the situation seriously and they're signing off on certain legislation that has some consequences to deter these catalytic converter thefts. But I wanna compare what California is doing and [00:07:13] failing at to what Hawaii has done and has succeeded in. So a new report based on insurance claims or insurance claim data released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows a surge in catalytic converter thefts across the country. [00:07:29] In total, the nation experienced more than 64,000 catalytic converter thefts in 2022. Leading the country are California and Texas, which experienced more than 32,000 catalytic converter thefts last year. So I wanna show you this graph that kind of shows the top states [00:07:47] where this crime occurs. California is by far number one with far more catalytic converter thefts than Texas. But California didn't really take this seriously until recently, okay? [00:08:02] So I'm gonna fast forward to that. So recently, Governor Gavin Newsome signed a bill into law targeting the crime, it's assembly bill 641. It was proposed by assemblyman Vince Fong from Bakersfield, and [00:08:18] it's the latest attempt by the state legislature to curb mounting cases of catalytic converter thefts. So here's what it'll do, okay? It will make it a misdemeanor, not a felony. Remember, that a misdemeanor for a person to have six or [00:08:35] more used converters if they are not a licensed automobile dismantler. Those with a vetted purpose for processing catalytic converters will remain exempt from this law, okay? But remember, if you're caught with six and [00:08:51] you really have no reason to have six, you might be charged with a misdemeanor. The bill also allows law enforcement to charge thieves with illegal automobile dismantling in the event they are caught with nine or more stolen converters. [00:09:07] Fines for this can go up to $1,000 per offense. And look, there were three other bills that passed in California last year as well, but I would venture to say that they're nothing burgers. For instance, AB1653 allows the California highway patrol's regional [00:09:23] property crimes task force to provide resources and assist local law enforcement in investigating catalytic converter thefts. SB1087 limits who can legally sell catalytic converters. AB1740 requires metal recyclers to maintain documentation on [00:09:39] the catalytic converters they purchased by recording the year make, model, and vehicle ID number or VIN. Similar laws, though, have passed in Hawaii, but I think it's unfair to say similar because their laws actually have teeth. [00:09:54] Statistics from the Honolulu police department are eye opening. As of 2023, there have been 119 reports of the theft. But at this time the year before, there were 1602 and [00:10:10] 2008 reported in 2021. Do you get what I'm saying here? So Hawaii passed laws, their laws have more teeth, and they're clearly working. You see it in the numbers. And what do I mean by saying that they have more teeth? [00:10:27] Well, first of all, their laws would charge someone caught with stolen catalytic converters with a felony. A misdemeanor is nothing, let's keep it real. A lot of people get charged with all sorts of misdemeanors in this state, and in the end it'll get pled down to nothing. [00:10:45] So in Hawaii, they changed the law and made it a crime, a felony compared to a misdemeanor, this happened back in June of 2022. And also, anyone selling the part had to show ID, sign a form saying the part wasn't stolen, among other requirements. [00:11:02] So basically making it less profitable to steal the catalytic converters and then sell them for the precious materials within them. I just think we need to stop kowtowing to people who happen to be activists, [00:11:19] who happen to not know what they're talking about and happen to do nothing other than empower criminal crime rings that are victimizing entire communities with these thefts. Which, look, if you're a working class American living in an incredibly expensive state like California, first of all, [00:11:37] even if you haven't been a victim of that theft, your insurance premiums have already gone up as a result of the catalytic converter thefts. So you're paying for it anyway and subsidizing the criminality. But aside from that, if you have been victimized, I mean, we're talking about [00:11:52] a situation in which a lot of Americans can't even afford a $400 emergency. Now imagine having to afford a one to $3,000 emergency. It is disastrous for people. And it's about time that our elected lawmakers on a state level do the right [00:12:10] thing and protect people from these types of crimes. Any final words Waz? >> Yeah, I completely agree with that. I think on the state level, that's about as much as you could do, right? Because at the end of the day, the state police, let alone local law enforcement, [00:12:30] don't have the resources to chase a crime from California to New Jersey. That's something the feds have to do, and I don't see them doing much else. And it'd be nice if they were actually chipping in and cracking down on these [00:12:45] crimes 100% because they affect everyday citizens and the like. And the funny thing I will say about this, Anna, is that I was listening to Chesa Boudin give an interview a few weeks ago, and it was a lot of ass covering, [00:13:01] him trying to explain why things didn't work out for himself in California. And he talked about the sort of dummy cars that they set up in San Francisco where they would put laptops and other goods and electronics in there. [00:13:19] They would allow them to be stolen, and basically they would track these things to international places. Essentially, this isn't some Penny Annie crimes, right? Even if these punk thieves came and jacked it, whoever's sending them or hiring them are part of some international ring. [00:13:37] I'm just like, Chesa, this does nothing for nobody. Your little San Francisco situation can't track people to, like you can't tell people like, this is what you found out and this is what you plan on doing. You have no jurisdiction in Vietnam. [00:13:52] But you know who can bring pressure to bear on criminals in Vietnam? The American government can, they've done it all over the freaking world whenever they felt like it. Whether it be places like the Middle East with the heroin trade or South America with the cocaine trade. [00:14:08] They do this kind of stuff stuff all the time. So to me, yeah, this kind of does have to become a federal issue. Do something, do your jobs. >> Speaker 1: Yes, and it appears that's what's happening, and I'm happy to see it.