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DIESEL EMISSIONS
Four Business Owners Indicted for Smuggling Tens of Millions
of Dollars in Emissions Defeat Devices
Originally published by the Department of Justice: https://
www.justice.gov/usao-edwa/pr/four-business-owners-indictedsmuggling-and-illegally-importing-tens-millions-dollars
SPOKANE,
WASHINGTON - On October 18, 2024, A federal
grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned
an indictment charging John Wesley Owens, of Manson,
Washington; Joshua Wesley Owens, of Mapleton, Utah; their
companies Diesel Truck Products, Inc. d/b/ DPF Delete Shop
Inc., and Fulfillment Solutions & More, LLC; Kevin Paul Dodd, of
Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada; his companies Evolution
Auto Performance and Evo Tunes Inc.; and Philip John Sweeney,
of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada; and his company KX
Wheels, for a scheme to smuggle and illegally import tens of
millions of dollars in contraband emissions defeat devices from
Canada into the United States and to sell and distribute them
throughout the United States, in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Under the Clean Air Act, diesel trucks are required to maintain
systems and components that limit harmful emissions of
dangerous pollutants such as diesel particulates. Exposure to
diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions like asthma
and respiratory illnesses and can worsen existing heart and
lung disease, especially in children and the elderly. Heavy-duty
diesel trucks are also required under the Clean Air Act to
maintain an onboard-diagnostic system which monitors the
functionality of the hardware emissions control components. In
order to ensure that the required emissions control systems are
functioning properly, if the system detects that an emissions
control component is not working, or has been removed, it will
ultimately put the truck into what is known as " limp mode, "
which limits the top speed to as low as 5 miles per hour.
Hardware and software designed to disable these emissions
controls, commonly known as " defeat devices " , can greatly
increase the emissions of these dangerous pollutants into the
atmosphere, particularly impacting communities that are close
to arterial roads and highways.
The indictment alleges that the Owens, Sweeney, Dodd, and their
companies conspired to violate the Clean Air Act and to smuggle
contraband and illegal defeat devices into the United States.
The indictment also charges the Owens and their companies
with money laundering. According to the indictment, between
December 2015 and November 2023, the Owens purchased more
than $33 million dollars in illegal emissions defeat devices from
Dodd, Sweeney, and their companies. The indictment alleges
January/February 2025 | THE COOLING JOURNAL | 23
that Dodd, Sweeney, and the Owens smuggled and illegally
imported these emissions defeat devices from Canada into
Eastern Washington and then sold and distributed them to
customers throughout the United States.

http://https:// http://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa/pr/four-business-owners-indicted

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