Three members of a California family pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy for their role in a ring that shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, federal prosecutors said.
Brothers Tou Sue Vang, 32, and Andrew Vang, 28, along with their mother, Monica Moua, 58, were part of “a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors” who provided the stolen auto anti-smog devices to a metal refinery for more than $600 million, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Twenty-one people from California and New Jersey have been charged in the case, prosecutors said. The three Sacramento family members pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport the devices in return for more than $38 million.
Man fuck these people. Everyone’s struggling out here and they just make it worse because they want the money. Idiots like this will never change
It’s not even that much money, compared to what it costs to get your catalytic converter replaced afterwards. The average scrap value is something like $85 each. It’ll cost you hundreds or possibly into the thousands depending on your car to have a shop replace your converter, because most people are not equipped to this themselves.
Fortunately I live in a state where you can get away with straight piping. So it’s mostly the environment that gets fucked!
On that note, a guy I know brought me his bakery van which thieves had cut the catalytic converter out of. He wanted me to straight pipe it to get it through inspection, until he could get the replacement cat. I went under there and… wait a minute, the missing section is after the downstream O2 sensor? Yeah, it turns out these bozos stole the resonator chamber out of his exhaust. I chased the pipe the rest of the way and found the actual converter under the hood.
Morons.
So I did straight pipe that son of a removed, and according to him the loss of the resonator didn’t make it perform or sound any different. I’d doubt the manufacturer just put it there for the hell of it, but, you never know.
I’m not sure I’d call that fortunate.
Where I’m from ‘straight piping’ means something entirely different
You just didn’t give them enough time. Another year and they’d have a Netflix show celebrating them, or they’d be on Forbes magazine for cornering the new hot niche
Everyone’s struggling out here and they just make it worse because they want the money.
They didn’t get convicted because they’re making life worse because they want money. They got convicted because they didn’t make life worse for money legally.
Making life worse for money is actually praised quite often in America.
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Justice. These people deserve a lengthy prison time. The pain they caused so many is indescribable.
I agree with you, but it feels like a good time to point out that employers steal 25 times that amount from employees every single year.
I agree with you, but it feels like a good time to point out that Vending Machines kill on average 13 people a year. Money means nothing compared to getting away with murder.
I like your style.
They took the catalytic converter meme literally
I hope they turn state’s ev on the people in my area doing this (I don’t know they’re connected, but if they are).
Is it too late to get into the catalytic converter theft business? I promise to only do it to expensive cars
