DETROIT — On Feb. 23, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan sentenced Diesel Freak LLC and ordered the business to pay a fine of $750,000 and serve a term of probation.
The owner of the business, Ryan Lalone, and two employees, Wade Lalone and James Sisson, were each sentenced to one year of probation, according to a news release.
Over the course of the case, the court ordered over $1.8 million in fines.
In April 2023, Diesel Freak, two other companies, Ryan and Wade Lalone, Sisson and eight other individuals were charged for their involvement in a scheme to disable the emissions controls on hundreds of semi-trucks.
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, the company 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 the court.
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.
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.
