Hutchinson man pleads guilty to theft of multi-million dollar catalytic converter

A Minnesota man who sold $21 million worth of stolen catalytic converters pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday.

John K. Cotten, of Hutchinson, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods interstate after prosecutors said he spent two years buying, selling and transporting stolen auto parts. According to prosecutors, Cotten, along with other people he worked with, sold $19 million worth of stolen catalytic converters to out-of-state buyers alone.

Last month, two other Minnesota men pleaded guilty to conspiracy and weapons offenses in connection with the burglary ring.

Thefts of catalytic converters have increased across the country, largely due to the growth of the market for precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium. In Bloomington alone, police tracked nearly 450 thefts in 2022.

Cotten was indicted in October 2023 after authorities said he received money from a New Jersey company that was at the center of a national crackdown on the trade in stolen catalytic converters.

Cotten’s attorney, Joe Tamburino, declined to comment on the request.

According to court documents, between May 2020 and September 2022, Cotten purchased stolen auto parts from both street mechanics and middlemen, then used U-Haul to transport them outside of Minnesota.

Cotten admitted to using his business as a front to buy cars from private sellers or auctions. Even legitimate purchases were used to “protect the conspiracy from detection,” court documents say.

After his arrest, authorities seized hundreds of catalytic converters from Cotten’s Hutchinson property, as well as hundreds more in Sleepy Eye, St. Paul and Madison Lake.

Kotten faces up to six years in prison.

As reported last year, 5 INVESTIGATIONSCatalytic converter thefts began to decline in Minnesota and across the country around the same time as the federal crackdown, according to state and national data.

In August The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has rolled out a new statewide database track certain purchases in landfills. As 5 INVESTIGATES previously reported, the state tried to launch a similar database a decade ago before the Legislature scrapped the plan.

The two-year, $190,000 contract highlights BCA’s ability to “keep a list of suspect vendors.”