By Stephen Appezzato
HOLMDEL – A Holmdel resident pleaded guilty in federal court last week to selling stolen catalytic converters for more than $600 million, according to U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson from the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Navin Khanna, 41, admitted to one count of conspiracy and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.
According to federal prosecutors, Khanna ran a criminal enterprise called D.G. Auto Parts, which bought and sold auto parts across the country.
From May 2020 to October 2022, Khanna and his co-conspirators operated a large-scale operation that bought stolen catalytic converters from Oklahoma, Texas and other states, and transported them to New Jersey. Reportedly, Khanna admitted to receiving over $600 million for reselling the stolen parts to a metal refinery that extracted the precious metals within the converters.
“Khanna’s theft ring took advantage of hard-working citizens in the Northern District of Oklahoma by stealing catalytic converters, rendering the vehicle unusable,” said Johnson.
The investigation into the theft ring began in 2020, when the Tulsa Police Department noted a significant rise in catalytic converter thefts in the area.
The Tulsa Police Department’s investigation quickly expanded into a larger, national probe, uncovering a criminal network that spanned several states. Authorities executed search warrants in Oklahoma, Texas, California, New Jersey and New York.
In November 2022, Khanna made local headlines when he was arrested for his role in the operation.
Catalytic converters are key parts in car exhaust systems that lower toxic pollutants from exhaust gas by converting combustion gases into less harmful vapors, like carbon dioxide and water. Converters contain precious metals that chemically react with exhaust gas.
Alongside his guilty plea, Khanna agreed to forfeit $3 million in cash, more than
$800,000 from checking accounts, several luxury vehicles, his interest in several real estate properties, high-end jewelry, gold bars and over 200 pallets of catalytic converters seized during the execution of a warrant, according to the district attorney’s office.
“Across the United States, thousands of people have had the catalytic converters cut off their parked cars because they contain valuable precious metals,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Galeotti said thieves sell the stolen parts to middlemen, like Khanna and his co-conspirators, “who use special equipment to crack the catalytic converters open. In the aggregate, the value of the stolen goods is worth enormous amounts – here more than $600 million.”
Amid a surge of auto thefts in New Jersey, in 2023, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law making it more difficult for “bad actors” to sell stolen converters to scrap yards.
Khanna faces sentencing in the Eastern District of California, where he is also awaiting prosecution for related charges. More than 10 individuals have been charged in connection with the conspiracy and have pleaded guilty.
The article originally appeared in the July 31 – August 6, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
