The latest scandal involving TDI has nothing to do with Volkswagen, but it does involve emissions devices. That’s because a Philadelphia company called TDI Towing is at the heart of a crime ring and bought as many as $8.2 million worth of catalytic converters over the last three years, authorities claim.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub announced the bust on Tuesday. As part of the action, the DA’s office has charged 10 adults and one juvenile following its investigation, which involved dozens of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, and lasted a year.
TDI Towing and its owner were allegedly a major buyer of hot catalytic converters, some literally, reports CBS News. Police say that in their surveillance footage, they have evidence of catalytic converters that were so freshly stolen off vehicles, they were still hot and had to be cooled in water.
Read: 153,000 Catalytic Converters Were Stolen In 2022 And These Are The Most Targeted Vehicles
Investigators claim that at its peak, TDI Towing was paying as much as $10,000 a night to thieves who brought them stolen catalytic converters across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Between 2020 and 2023, the towing company is said to have bought as many as 27,300 converters, worth an estimated $8.2 million.
Authorities paint the owner as the kingpin of the operation, but say he was assisted by his employees, most of whom were family members. In addition, police arrested a number of cutters, who were the people responsible for actually removing the parts from vehicles.
Weintraub said that his goal is to put TDI Towing out of business forever with this case, and to serve it a “corporate death sentence.” Investigators now want to hear from victims, who may be entitled to reimbursement.
Thefts of catalytic converters skyrocketed across North America during the pandemic. An important emissions control device, the part is full of rare metals whose values rose, making the parts a figurative gold mine. As a part of the exhaust system, the part hangs below a vehicle, and is relatively easy to cut off of it – all of which made it an attractive target for people looking for money in a time of enormous uncertainty.
However, for owners, the loss of the part could be more than a nuisance. Not only are catalytic converters worth hundreds to thousands of dollars, replacing them can cost even more since they need to be spliced into the exhaust system.
To avoid becoming a target of catalytic converter theft, authorities recommend that vehicle owners park their vehicles inside where possible, and that they etch their vehicle’s VIN into the part in order to make it easier to identify following busts like these.