Scrap Metal Dealer Pleads Guilty in Multistate Catalytic Converter Theft Conspiracy

A scrap metal dealer with a Virginia shop pled guilty this week to theft and tax charges related to his participation in a multi-state catalytic converter theft conspiracy.

According to court documents, Theodore Nicholas Papouloglou, 45, used his business, DG Auto South in Emporia, Virginia to purchase stolen catalytic converters from thieves. Papouloglou then transported the stolen catalytic converters to his co-conspirators in New Jersey for shipment of the catalytic metals to Japan.

Prosecutors said that in 2020 and 2021, Papouloglou received more than $12.2 million in wired payments from his co-conspirators in New Jersey, including for proceeds from his illicit sale of catalytic converters.

Despite realizing income from DG Auto South, Papouloglou paid no taxes in 2020 and 2021, prosecutors charged.

Papouloglou, who is from North Carolina, separately helped his co-conspirators in New Jersey purchase stolen catalytic converters from other sellers, including sellers in Texas and Oklahoma, by facilitating bulk cash payments. The total value of the funds that Papouloglou illicitly transferred was at least $6.6 million.

Law enforcement seized and Papouloglou agreed to forfeit eight vehicles associated with the offense including a Mercedes, a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, two McLarens, two Fords and a Jeep.

Catalytic converters, which reduce toxic gas and pollutants from a vehicle’s exhaust system, use precious metals in their centers, or “cores,” and are regularly targeted for theft due to the high value of these metals, especially palladium, platinum, and rhodium. Experts say some of these are more valuable per ounce than gold, and the black-market price for catalytic converters can be above $1,000. A catalytic converter can be stolen from an automobile undercarriage in less than a minute.

U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted the guilty plea. Papouloglou is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2025.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice participated in the investigation and prosecution.

Source: U.S. Attorney

Topics Fraud