FBI says elaborate scheme in RI was worth millions and spanned several states

It was 2021 and the market for precious metals was hot, drawing attention to catalytic converters on cars, trucks and SUVs.
Catalytic converters render engine-exhaust pollutants into carbon dioxide and water vapor. The "catalyst" for the conversion itself, which happens through a chemical reaction, is a precious metal such as platinum, palladium or rhodium.
The average scrap price for converters ranged from $300 to $1,500 for a period in 2020 and 2021, according to an FBI affidavit.
The ease of stripping the parts from cars and SUVs, as well as the difficulty of tracing stolen converters back to vehicles they were removed from, was another incentive for lawbreakers.
Filed in U.S. District Court, Providence, the 36-page affidavit accuses three men of participating in an elaborate conspiracy to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars through the theft and sale of catalytic converters.
"Thieves began to target vehicles for not only their rims and tires, but also for their catalytic converters," says the detail-rich FBI record.
The affidavit also charts the role of a Providence-based company in the local trade for the converters – or "cats."
Cranston police noticed the extensive and frequent catalytic converter theft in early 2022.
Investigators identified a ring of thieves they believed was responsible for stealing more than 7,000 converters, estimated at a total value of more than $2.4 million, across New England, the FBI says.
GPS data gathered by investigators shows that a particular rented Volkswagen Golf traveled from the location of one theft to another, six different locations altogether in Providence and Warwick in 2022, the FBI says.
Also, the timing of the June 22 visits to the locations fell within the time frame of thefts, according to the affidavit.
The GPS data also showed that the same Volkswagen had parked outside a Providence business, identified in the affidavit only as Company 1. That business is Accurate Converter, which purchases used auto parts.
And a surveillance photo from inside the business shows one of the three men who now faces charges, 27-year-old Luis Aceituno, standing at a table alongside an array of converters, according to the affidavit.
Aceituno is also standing next to an open garage door near the rear end of a gray Volkswagen Golf, which he got out of, the FBI says.
Records kept at the business reflect the purchase of 12 converters and a payment of $4,675 at 3:05 p.m. on the afternoon of June 22. Aceituno is listed as the recipient of the payment, the FBI says.
The sequence is one of several transactions presented in the affidavit, which also says Aceituno sold about 898 converters for $233,665 in 2022 and 1,230 converters for $466,070 in 2022.
Investigators found that he sold 2128 catalytic converters to the unnamed Providence company and received a total of $699,735, the FBI says.
Just days after the episode with the Volkswagen Golf in late June 2022, Gov. Dan McKee took action with help from the Rhode Island General Assembly that would merit reference in the affidavit compiled by FBI Special Agent Lise B. George.
The new law required catalytic converter buyers to obtain either vehicle identification numbers or copies of registrations for the vehicles from which the converters were removed. It also mandated that buyers obtain a digital image of each seller's photo identification.
In the meantime, the Cranston investigators realized that Aceituno and others were working extensively outside Rhode Island, Cranston's police chief, Col. Michael J. Winquist, recalled on April 29.
"It became readily apparent that it was all throughout New England, and we needed to switch to federal jurisdiction," Winquist said.
The FBI entered the probe in February 2023.
A major focus for investigators early on was Accurate Converter, which is in a plaza off Branch Avenue adjacent to Interstate 95.
While the company is not identified by name in the affidavit, the property where it had been operating is shown in pictures in the file.
The business was also the site of a raid soon after the FBI entered the fray.
Years before, the conspirators had come to know "Company 1" as an outfit that bought converters without scrutinizing the people who were selling them, the FBI says.
The company's employees, the FBI says, had purchased the parts without requiring photo identification or requiring documentation regarding the particular vehicles that the converters had been removed from.
This had changed by early 2023, and employees started to adhere to the new law, according to witnesses cited by the FBI.
The catalytic converter thieves could not provide the necessary documentation for the stolen converters, the FBI says.
In an email, the CEO of Accurate Converter, George Lucas, declined to comment on the situation, saying the company does not believe it would be appropriate "in light of the pending court case against the three defendants."
In recent days, Aceituno and two other men accused in the conspiracy were charged in federal court. Aceituno faces counts of interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000, conspiracy to commit that same offense, and willfully subscribing to a false or fraudulent tax return, statement or other document.
Aceituno was released on personal recognizance after he made his initial appearance. Another co-defendant was released to home detention with GPS monitoring, and a third defendant in the case has already been detained in an unrelated matter.
Catalytic converter thefts once took place on a daily basis in Cranston, but now such thefts are a rare occurrence.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add additional information.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: FBI investigation into catalytic converter thefts worth $2.4 million

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