On September 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice announced a Clean Air Act settlement with Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. (Rudy’s), a North Carolina automotive parts manufacturer and seller, and its owner, Aaron Rudolf. The settlement involves paying $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for manufacturing, selling, and installing devices known as "defeat devices" that disable truck emissions controls.
Rudy’s pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and was sentenced in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered Rudy’s to pay a $2.4 million criminal fine and undergo three years of organizational probation. In April 2024, Aaron Rudolf also pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act by tampering with monitoring devices on approximately 300 diesel trucks through the installation of defeat devices. He received three years of probation and was fined $600,000.
Separate from these criminal actions, EPA and the Justice Department filed a civil complaint in 2022 against Rudy’s and Rudolf for violating the Clean Air Act by manufacturing, selling, and installing defeat devices while failing to respond adequately to EPA's information requests. Under a consent decree filed on July 29, 2024, Rudy’s and Rudolf will pay a $7 million civil penalty for these violations. The decree also prohibits them from making or selling defeat devices or transferring intellectual property related to such devices.
David M. Uhlmann, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance stated: “For too many years, companies like Rudy’s have installed illegal defeat devices to evade the public health protections of the Clean Air Act." Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim emphasized that "defeat devices can lead to pollution at high levels that pose health risks."
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves highlighted that there would 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.” U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston noted that settlements like these are essential for holding violators accountable.
Court documents reveal that Rudy’s sold delete tuners which tampered with vehicles' on-board diagnostic systems (OBDs). After another company stopped making these tuners in December 2016, Rudy's manufactured imitation tuners in-house until July 2018 using software purchased for $850,000.
The civil lawsuit alleges that from at least 2014 through mid-2019, Rudy's manufactured over 250,000 products designed to disable emissions controls which significantly increased harmful emissions such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
The $7 million penalty under the consent decree was based on their financial capability and lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Further details about Rudy's enforcement actions can be found on EPA's website.
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