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Providence man admits to filing false tax return linked to catalytic converter theft scheme

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PBN Staff

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03/16/2026

DistrictCourt — DANIEL RIVERA, 36, of Providence, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on March 4 to filing a false tax return linked to income related to a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft scheme. / COURTESY U.S. DISTRICT COURT

PROVIDENCE – A city man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on March 4 to filing a false tax return linked to income related to a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft scheme, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Charles C. Calenda announced. Daniel Rivera, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns. Rivera received

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PROVIDENCE – A city man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on March 4 to filing a false tax return linked to income related to a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft scheme, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Charles C. Calenda announced. Daniel Rivera, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns. 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. His false filings caused tax losses of approximately $13,426 for the tax year 2021 and $55,930 for the tax year 2022, Calenda said. In April of 2025, Rivera, Kuron Mitchell, 25, of Newport, and Luis Aceituno, 27, of Providence, were each charged with interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000 and conspiracy to commit the same. According to charging documents, the Cranston Police Department began tracking patterns surrounding the thefts of catalytic converters in January 2022. A criminal group was later identified as allegedly being responsible for more than 7,000 stolen catalytic converters in southern New England and in Greater Boston, valued at more than $2.4 million. Many of the stolen catalytic converters were allegedly sold to a Providence company [identified in court documents as Company 1] 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. 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, according to court documents. Working in groups, they allegedly targeted vehicles in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, cut off the catalytic converters, and sold many of them to Company 1. The FBI conducted an analysis of Company 1’s databases seized during a court-authorized search of the business in February 2023. That information and a review of a database maintained by the R.I Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Identification, revealed that from 2021 to 2022, Rivera allegedly sold 19 catalytic converters and received $7,100; and Aceituno allegedly sold 2,128 catalytic converters to Company 1 and received $699,735. Aceituno appeared in U.S. District Court on April 27, 2025 and was released on unsecured bond; Mitchell appeared in U.S. District Court on April 25, 2025, and was ordered released to home detention with GPS monitoring. Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17.