A Rhode Island man pleaded guilty this week to failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income that he received from selling stolen catalytic converters to a Rhode Island scrap yard.
U.S. Attorney Charles C. Calenda reported that Daniel Rivera pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns in U.S. District Court in Providence. Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced on June.
Charging documents reflect that from at least January 2021 until November 2022, Rivera and others canvased neighborhoods and parking lots in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in search of unoccupied vehicles from which they could steal catalytic converters. Many of the stolen catalytic converters were sold to a Providence company that recycles catalytic converters. Depending on the model and type of precious metal component, the average scrap price for catalytic converters ranged from $300 to $1,500.
According to prosecutors, Rivera received approximately $59,890 from stolen catalytic converter sales in 2021 and $224,750 in 2022 but failed to report those amounts on his federal income tax returns. As a result, Rivera’s false filings caused tax losses of approximately $13,426 for the tax year 2021 and $55,930 for the tax year 2022.
This is the latest development in a law enforcement campaign to dismantle catalytic converter theft rings.
In April 2025, three other Rhode Island men were charged for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to steal and sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of catalytic converters. According to federal prosecutors, Kuron Mitchell, of Newport, Alberto Rivera, of Cranston, and Luis Aceituno, of Providence, were each charged with interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000 and conspiracy. Additionally, Aceituno was charged with filing false tax returns.
Court documents alleged that from at least January 2021 until November 2022, Rivera, Aceituno, Mitchell, and others canvassed neighborhoods and parking lots in search of unoccupied vehicles from which they could steal catalytic converters. Working in groups, they allegedly targeted vehicles in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, cut off the catalytic converters, and sold many of them to the Providence recycler.
Rivera allegedly sold 19 catalytic converters and received $7,100; and Aceituno allegedly sold 2,128 catalytic converters and received $699,735. Prosecutors further alleged that Aceituno failed to disclose to the IRS income of $699,735 from the sale of converters and failed to pay a total of $199,908 due to the IRS.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Also, according to charging documents, in January 2022, the Cranston Police Department began tracking patterns surrounding the thefts of catalytic converters. Police later identified a group they alleged were responsible for more than 7,000 stolen catalytic converters in southern New England and in the greater Boston area, valued at more than $2.4 million.
Last October, a man who orchestrated the thefts of catalytic converters from nearly 500 vehicles, multiple jewelry store robberies and the stealing of banks’ automated teller machines was sentenced in federal court in Boston.
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