GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten has announced that a company and several individuals have been sentenced for violating the Clean Air Act by engaging in an aftermarket scheme to disable the emissions control systems of semi-trucks.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Maloney confirmed the felony convictions of corporate defendant Diesel Freak LLC, of Gaylord, Michigan, and ordered the business to pay a fine of $750,000 and serve a term of probation. It was the largest fine imposed over the course of the case in which the Court ordered over $1.8 million in fines.
Maloney also sentenced the owner of the business, Ryan Lalone, and two employees, Wade Lalone and James Sisson, each to one year of probation. The hearing concludes sentencing for all 14 defendants charged in the case.
“Holding corporations responsible for environmental crimes is tremendously important,” Totten said. “This case is one of the largest of its kind ever charged in the United States and today’s sentences send a clear message that polluters who break environmental laws will be held accountable. Environmental rules safeguard the water we drink, the lakes we fish, and the air we breathe. It’s critical that we protect our people and our planet from harmful pollutants.”
The company and the individual defendants pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act.
Diesel Freak is a diesel repair and electronics modification facility that designs and builds electronic monitoring and modification kits that adjust engine power and fuel efficiency through Wi-Fi connections with trucks on the road.
During the conspiracy period, which ran from approximately 2015 through November 2018, when Diesel Freak was searched by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Diesel Freak conducted remote reprogramming, or tuning, of on-board diagnostic systems, including deletions of environmental controls, allowing diesel engines for large open-road trucks to work cheaper, without environmental restrictions, causing pollution beyond that allowed by law, according to Totten.
Lalone estimated that 70% of Diesel Freak’s business was full emissions control deletions. This process is sometimes referred to as a “deletion,” that is, “deleting” the emissions controls from the vehicles.
“Deleting” emissions controls from the vehicles can improve performance and fuel economy and save maintenance costs but is unlawful and causes significant environmental harm. Tampering with or removing emissions controls can drastically increase the emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and non-methane hydrocarbons found in vehicle exhaust. Exposure to and inhalation of these chemicals at greater levels is associated with serious health risks.
“Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions, such as asthma and respiratory illness, and contributes greatly to poor air quality — concerns the defendants in this case ignored in favor of financial profit,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lisa Matovic of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID). “The sentencings in this case show that EPA and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable individuals who disregard health and environmental laws designed to protect our communities from dangerous air pollution.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
