SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Officials announced Thursday that a federal indictment had charged twelve individuals with participating in a conspiracy to circumvent by using a complex device termed the “OBDNator,” thereby breaching the Clean Air Act.
The indictment was made public today after the apprehension of the accused parties, officials stated.
These individuals are purported to have been involved in the fabrication, distribution, and application of OBDNators to pass smog inspections throughout the state illicitly.
According to court documents, between October 2015 and March 2024, the defendants participated in a conspiracy to cause polluting vehicles to pass California’s smog checks.
Smog checks are typically performed by plugging smog inspection equipment, a Data Acquisition Device (DAD), into a vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics port (OBD).
The conspirators plugged the smog inspection equipment into the OBDNator device to cheat smog tests instead.
The OBDNator would then make it look like a vehicle had passed the smog check regardless of the true condition of that vehicle’s emission control system. While the defendants’ roles in the conspiracy varied, they all used the OBDNator devices.
The following defendants are charged with conspiracy and making false statements under the Clean Air Act:
- · Hossam “Sam” Hemdan, 54, of Hawthorne, owned and controlled several smog stations in Hawthorne and elsewhere. He designed, manufactured, and sold the OBDNator devices.
- · Javier Salguero, 47, of Inglewood, owned and controlled several smog shops, including one in Bell and two in Maywood.
- · Oscar Gomez, 36, of Rancho Cucamonga, ran a school for automotive technicians in Rancho Cucamonga.
- · Guillermo Tovar, 35, of Fontana, worked at multiple smog stations.
- · Arwa Harb, 53, of Redondo Beach, owned and controlled smog stations, including one in Wilmington and one in South Gate.
- · Minh Truong, 45, of San Jose, operated out of smog stations owned by Thong Truong.
- · Thong Truong, 40, of San Jose, owned and controlled smog stations, including two in Long Beach.
- · Michael Nguyen, 38, of National City, operated out of a smog station in Spring Valley.
The following defendants are charged with conspiracy:
- · Yehia Harb, 36, of Hawthorne, owned and controlled a smog shop that was formerly in Venice and presently is in Hawthorne.
- · Khaled Hamdan, 31, of Hawthorne, worked at businesses owned by Hemdan.
- · Jeremy Earls, 37, of Lakewood, owned and controlled smog stations, including two in Long Beach.
- · Nas Meshal, 30, of La Palma.
“Vehicle emissions testing is fundamental to protect air quality,” said EPA Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent in Charge Bahney. “The individuals ran a scheme to undermine the Clean Air Act ultimately at the expense of public health and the environment.”
According to court documents, Hemdan developed the OBDNator device and its accompanying software program.
Hemdan sold and distributed OBDNator devices for as much as $18,000. After plugging the smog inspection equipment into the OBDNator, the conspirators would use the OBDNator to convey false smog check information to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR).
Officials stated that the OBDNator provided the Vehicle Identification Number and passing “answers” to the smog inspection equipment’s queries in the exact format that a passing vehicle of the same make, model, and year would provide.
To provide those false answers, the defendants and others maintained collections of “clean” vehicle profiles that they would use to make it look like other vehicles had passed.
The latest version of the OBDNator could pass a vehicle without the vehicle even being present at the smog station.
During the conspiracy, officials stated that some defendants organized classes to teach how to use the OBDNator and communicated through chat groups about how to avoid detection by authorities.
The defendants’ fraud was widespread.
OBDNators are believed to be the most common and successful simulator device used to cheat smog tests in California, the indictment states.
When used skillfully with the latest software updates, the devices have, at times, advanced beyond BAR’s ability to detect cheating with its current equipment.
However, when a user of the OBDNator performs a fraudulent smog imperfectly, BAR can often detect “tells” in the data conveyed to BAR during the smog inspection.
In the approximately six-month period, BAR detected the use of a smog-cheating device in more than 0.5% of total smog inspections. This is likely an undercount because many successful attempts have not been detected, according to officials.
The OBDNator devices have harmed California’s air quality and endangered the health of California residents. California’s Smog Check Program has made great progress in ensuring that most vehicles comply with emissions standards and improving California’s air quality.
The defendants’ smog-cheating scheme undermines those efforts. A comparison between the failure rates of vehicles inspected in 2023 by BAR at random roadside checkpoints (13.5%) and by smog stations (7%) indicates how undetectable smog cheating leads to polluting vehicles being driven on California’s roads.
The dirtiest vehicles – which could not pass smog inspections legitimately and could not be registered without cheating – have an outsize impact on the air.
For example, according to research by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the highest 1% of emitting light-duty vehicles are responsible for approximately 42% of the total hydrocarbon emissions from all light-duty vehicles.
BAR and CARB estimate that if all smog check stations in California operated as effectively as high-performing stations, that would reduce approximately 56 additional tons per day of exhaust emissions.
If convicted of the conspiracy count, the defendants face a maximum penalty of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
If convicted of the count of false statements in Clean Air Act documents, the defendants face a maximum penalty of two years and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.