A jury convicted George Thomas, 72, formerly of Fresno and Clovis, on Thursday of selling thousands of stolen catalytic converters for more than $2.7 million.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced the conviction following a four-day trial.

“Catalytic converter theft is a nationwide problem that has affected tens of thousands of Californians,” said Beckwith in a news release. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud of its continuing effort to disrupt and dismantle this type of organized criminal activity that impacts so many victims.”

The jury also convicted Thomas of structuring his illicit gains to conceal them from the government. Generally speaking, banks are required to report cash withdrawals over $10,000 to the government. However, Thomas structured his bank withdrawals of cash in increments under $10,000 to avoid that reporting threshold, prosecutors said.

“Thanks to collaborate efforts of the agencies involved, the ringleader behind the catalytic converter theft operations across the Central Valley is now facing significant fines and jail time for his wrongdoing,” said Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp.

Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of his convictions.

Thomas Organized and Taught Thieves

According to evidence presented at trial, between January 2021 and November 2022, Thomas purchased stolen converters from a group of habitual thieves in the Fresno area, who cut the converters off of vehicles. The sales occurred in the parking lots of motels, gas stations, and similar places at all hours of the day and night.

Thomas gave the thieves instructions on the types of converters he sought and how to best cut the converters off vehicles. Thomas also loaned the thieves money to pay for their motel rooms, saws, and bail. The loans were contingent on the thieves continuing to steal converters for him.

After an initial search warrant was executed at Thomas’ home in mid-2021, Thomas continued with the illegal sales but tried to cover it up.

The cover-up included taking a photograph of the thief and an identification card each time he made a sale, requesting a Vehicle Identification Number for the vehicle from which the converter was supposedly cutoff, and having the thief sign a piece of paper stating that the converter was not stolen.

However, Thomas continued doing cash buys in the same places with the same thieves. He allowed the thieves to use fake and stolen IDs and provide him with false VINs. In addition, he completed undercover sales where he said that he did not care where the VINs or converters came from.

Thomas drove the stolen converters to Oregon where he sold them to a metal recycling company for $2.7 million. The recycling company paid Thomas by wire transfer. He then withdrew the money through 386 cash withdrawals that were each under the $10,000 reporting threshold.

Converter Theft Drop 60% After Arrest of Thomas

After Thomas was arrested in April 2023, reports of converter theft in the Fresno area decreased by more than 60%.

The FBI, the Fresno County DA’s Office, and Clovis and Fresno police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Justin Gilio are the prosecutors.

“Mr. Thomas’ criminal actions impacted countless members of our communities, both financially and emotionally. Through solid investigations by officers and detectives and the determined prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Thomas will finally be held accountable,” said Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto.