Over the past few years, we’ve seen the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ramp up its efforts to crack down on those that delete emissions devices from vehicles, or modify those vehicles in ways that violates emissions standards. This has largely been relegated to the world of diesel engines, as many tuners have been selling vehicle emissions defeat devices for years now. Problem is, those same mods result in those vehicles emitting high levels of pollutants, many of which are directly linked to respiratory diseases. Now, yet another seller of emissions equipment defeat devices has had the legal hammer fall on it.
That company is Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. of North Carolina, as well as its owner, Aaron Rudolf, who has agreed to pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for manufacturing, selling, and installing defeat devices used to remove or disable emissions controls in motor vehicles. Rudy’s sells a host of parts for Ford diesel-powered pickups, as well as gas models. The company pleaded guilty to these charges and was sentenced in federal court in Washington, D.C., for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and was subsequently ordered to pay a criminal fine of $2.4 million and to complete a three-year period of organizational probation.
Additionally, Rudolf, who is the sole owner and chief executive officer of Rudy’s – and previously pleaded guilty for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act by tampering with monitoring devices on approximately 300 diesel trucks – was sentenced in April to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $600,000 criminal fine. Both entities also have to pay a $7 million civil penalty for violations stemming from a 2022 civil suit filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the EPA.
Rudy’s becomes just the latest seller of defeat devices to find itself on the wrong end of the law, joining EZ Lynk, which was also accused of violating the federal Clean Air Act by selling similar devices back in 2021, while Ford dealer Moody Motor Co., Inc. in Niobrara, Nebraska, received one-year of probation, plus a fine of $ 39,741.95 and a $125 special assessment for similar transgressions just last month. As a result of this crackdown, eBay banned the sale of emissions defeat devices on its platform back in 2022.
Comments
Well done, EPA! At least we know that Ford will not sponsor such defeats, as VW did and was severely punished.
You’re nuts. This is a collosal waste of time and taxpayer money. We should gut the EPA of all these useless bureaucrats.
Back off, Jack.
Calm down, take a breath, relax and stop being hysterical.
Sheesh…..you extremists need a time-out and a spanking.
I’m not for destroying the environment, but you should be able to modify your vehicle. These bureaucrats are completely out of control and drunk on power. Times need to change and change quickly.
John I totally agree with you and Dave
Amen
This is ludicrous. The percentage of people that actually spend money for these devices is so small that the environmental effects are non-existent. Government has been/continues to OK building dozens of data centers in my backyard that individually consume enough electricity to power 40,000 households, but some guy’s truck is going to wreck the atmosphere. Give me a friggin’ break.
Heh…..what a hypocrite.
Why are we only concerned about cars/trucks emissions?? Yet all these factories are still releasing mass amounts of green house gases..