Nine men and a company have been indicted and charged with conspiring to install so-called “defeat devices” on diesel trucks, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
The devices would allow the vehicles to emit far more pollutants than allowed by law contravening the Clean Air Act.
The defendants, Phillip Dwain Waddell, Philip Matthew Ormand, Kolby Douglas Huneycutt, Kyle Kris Kizer, Jonathan Joseph Lohrmeyer, Justin Loutoyama Pasamonte, Archie George Sims, and Adam Marsh Stanley, along with auto dealership James Hodge Motors, Inc. (doing business as Jay Hodge Dodge) and its Chief Operating Officer, Curtis Kevin Poore, face indictments related to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.
“These defendants intentionally flouted laws designed to ensure our children – and our children’s children – have clean air to breathe. By installing devices that bypassed automakers’ built-in emissions controls, they spewed pollutants into our neighborhoods. The Justice Department, along with our partners at the Environmental Protection Agency, take violations of the Clean Air Act very seriously,” said Simonton.
According to the indictment, Waddell allegedly sold aftermarket diesel exhaust components and “delete tunes,” which override on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems required by the Clean Air Act.
These delete tunes purportedly allowed vehicles to emit excess pollutants undetected by OBDs, thus circumventing emission regulations.
“Pollutants emitted from tampered vehicles can have significant harm to public health,” said Kim Bahney, Special Agent in Charge for the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.
“This scheme occurred over several years and spanned across multiple states, diminishing air quality.”
The indictment alleges Ormand customized delete tunes for specific vehicles, with Waddell allegedly purchasing these tunes and selling them for significant profits.
The defendants, including Huneycutt, Kizer, Lohrmeyer, Pasamonte, Sims, and Stanley, are accused of purchasing and installing these delete tunes on customers’ vehicles.
Additionally, the indictment also alleges James Hodge Motors, under the supervision of Poore, engaged in similar practices, falsifying invoices to conceal the nature of their work on customers’ trucks.
The indictment represents allegations, not evidence, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
If convicted, each defendant faces potential federal prison sentences of up to five years, while the company could incur fines of up to $500,000.
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