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Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

justice.gov

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Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#381

Post by bondarchuk »

fswd wrote: post #70
55555 wrote: post #28

I may be misreading this but the margins look insane. DG Auto paid like 38 million USD for stolen converters, performed a simple extraction process, then sold the precious metals for 550 million USD. Wow.

Wow. I googled DG Auto, and they even have an app for thieves to check prices. https://dgauto.app/ Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts...

A hilarious detail is that their price tiers are "ruthenium", "platinum" and "palladium".

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#382

Post by prvit »

tpxl wrote: post #366
heleninboodler wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is absolutely no "intrusion" to speak of here. Well, there is, actually. I think it's a bit histrionic to worry about it, but we definitely have intruded on Joe's freedom to buy and sell cats. Maybe he's into cat arbitrage. Maybe he makes them himself. Maybe he's got a lot of cars he doesn't need to drive and is strapped for cash. The point of the sticklers for freedom here is that regular citizens shouldn't…

> but we definitely have intruded on Joe's freedom to buy and sell cats No we haven't. Joe is free to resell converters, provided he proves he obtained them legally, which is trivial _if_ you obtained them legally.

Oh, so now Joe is guilty until proven innocent? Nice!

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#383

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

ineptech wrote: post #308
ThePowerOfFuet wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > Defendants ... operated DG Auto... DG Auto sold the precious metal powders it processed from California and elsewhere to a metal refinery for over $545 million. > How did they make $545M in a racket whose upper limit on annual profit is a tenth of that? Perhaps that figure represents DG Auto's gross revenue, only a portion of which comes from recycling converters? Because the converters themselves are only worth…

$1K was the high end, most of 'em cost less than that new.

The police? Inflating the value of something associated with criminality so it sounds worse than it really is?

It can't be.

/s

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#384

Post by TheLoafOfBread »

themitigating wrote: post #153
TheLoafOfBread wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries will get stolen for same reason.

A tesla model 3 battery weighs over 1000lbs

They are able to lift whole car in a daylight to steal a catalytic converter. 500kg battery is nothing.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#385

Post by TheLoafOfBread »

danans wrote: post #248
TheLoafOfBread wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries will get stolen for same reason.

Only when the thieves have robotic exoskeletons.

Or a simple jack lift, pallet trolley and few pulleys. Just like on manufacturing line, why it should be complicated?

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#386

Post by pjc50 »

55555 wrote: post #28

I may be misreading this but the margins look insane. DG Auto paid like 38 million USD for stolen converters, performed a simple extraction process, then sold the precious metals for 550 million USD. Wow.

Crime has huge margins. If it didn't nobody would bother.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#387

Post by bmj »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #380
SoftTalker wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah it happened to my car like 6 or 8 years ago. I called around to salvage yards to try to buy a used exhaust. I needed basically everything from the manifold back due to where the thief made his cuts. Every yard told me that they aren't allowed to deal in used exhaust systems. I had to buy a new aftermarket exhaust or a new one from the dealer.

>Every yard told me that they aren't allowed to deal in used exhaust systems. This is a long standing emissions law thing that predates theft issues. They want people to drop big coin on something (be that an exhaust system or a vehicle financed at a borderline usury rate from the local BHPH lot) that will be in compliance for awhile rather than slap a used cat on that will barely pass the test and go out of complian…

In my state, which has an annual emissions inspection, I have yet to meet a non-dealer mechanic who will not do everything possible to get a vehicle with a bad cat through the inspection process.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#388

Post by gregshap »

acchow wrote: post #302
ineptech wrote: post #298

Treating this press release like a story problem in 5th grade math, there's something off: > Last year approximately 1,600 catalytic converters were reportedly stolen in California each month, and California accounts for 37% of all catalytic converter theft claims nationwide. > The black-market price for catalytic converters can be above $1,000 each, depending on the type of vehicle and what state it is from. > Defen…

1) maybe they ran the ring for more than a decade? 2) 1600 is just the number reported . I’d imagine not many people report the thefts, especially if your car insurance premiums will rise (insurance companies raise premiums even if you don’t make a claim if they have information that suggests your neighborhood or places you frequent are at increased risk of theft) 3) possibly the rate of catalytic converter thefts ha…

can confirm 2 and 3 in my area

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#389

Post by nine_k »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #371
humanistbot wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They should also consider targeting and auditing shops that buy used car parts. Making it extremely difficult to fence these things will be practical and useful because they aren't sold and reused as is California just passed a law to this end, which is pretty straightforward and effectively turns the grey market into a black market. A black market will still exist, but it will be a lot harder for legitimate junkya…

This is a dumb law. It treats the symptom not the problem. There is an existing market for getting around KYC requirements. Just search "buying cats" on FB or CL and you will find plenty of them. These people buy cats from the thieves who are too known to the local yards to deal directly with them and pocket a fraction of the profit. You can keep adding laws but the material here is so valuable that the market can su…

Does not a law like this allow to actually GAF and start acting on leads towards resellers at FB, etc? Without resale being criminalized, what grounds would police have to even look at the middlemen?

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#390

Post by whoooooo123 »

drewmol wrote: post #333
olliej wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How well did laws to stop isolated crazy people killing lots of people stop … um … a group of countries investing large amounts of money and years of time into planning and training for the largest single attack on a civilian target in history? I mean sure, you could also ask how laws against shoplifting fail to stop bank robberies, and it would be just as coherent.

largest single attack on a civilian target in history? Japan would like to have a word with you.

Perhaps "largest single attack on a civilian target by a non-state actor" would be more accurate.
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