North Carolina-based Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. and its owner, Aaron Rudolf, have agreed to pay $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for making, selling, and installing “defeat devices” that disable vehicle emissions controls.
Rudy’s pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington, D.C., to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and was fined $2.4 million and sentenced to three years of probation. Rudolf, the owner, previously pleaded guilty to tampering with emissions controls on around 300 diesel trucks and was sentenced to three years of probation and a $600,000 fine.
Rudy’s and Rudolf will pay a $7 million fine for Clean Air Act violations in a separate civil case the Justice Department filed on behalf of the EPA.
A consent decree, still awaiting court approval, bans them from making, selling, or profiting from defeat devices.
Tampering with emissions controls on diesel trucks significantly increases harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. The EPA estimates that Rudy’s sales caused pollution, equivalent to adding over 1 million vehicles to the road. The $7 million civil penalty Rudy’s and Rudolf will pay was based on their financial capability.
“Defeat devices, such as those sold by Rudy’s, can lead to pollution at high levels that pose health risks and harm the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This plea agreement and civil settlement show that we will take strong action to enforce the Clean Air Act and emissions controls requirements for motor vehicles.”
“For too many years, companies like Rudy’s have installed illegal defeat devices to evade the public health protections of the Clean Air Act, to the detriment of communities across America,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s announcement demonstrates that EPA will vigorously pursue criminal and civil penalties until this blatant illegal behavior comes to an end.”
“Those selling defeat devices are willing to pollute the environment so that they can personally profit,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “Today’s sentencing makes clear that there will be significant consequences for those who traffic in these devices. Anyone considering peddling or installing these devices is on notice of the substantial costs of doing so.”
According to court documents, Rudy’s sold defeat devices, known as delete tuners, which tampered with vehicle on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems. Their top-selling product was the Mini Maxx delete tuner, originally made by another company, “Company A.” Rudy’s also sold Company A’s XRT Pro tuner.
After Company A stopped producing them, Rudy’s conspired to manufacture imitation tuners.
From July 2015 to December 2016, a software technician helped convert tuners into imitations, after which Rudy’s began making them in-house using an $850,000 laptop.
From December 2016 to July 2018, Rudy’s sold about 43,900 imitation tuners, generating $33 million.
The civil lawsuit claims that from 2014 to mid-2019, Rudy’s and its owner sold over 250,000 products that disabled EPA-mandated emissions controls. These products included hardware that blocked exhaust gas recirculation systems and replaced pollution treatment components.
The $7 million that Rudy’s and Rudolf will pay pursuant to the consent decree was based on their financial capability.
The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the criminal case.