A Pennsylvania mechanic has been sentenced for his role in a scheme to tamper with the engine control modules of at least eight trucks – resulting in excess emission.
On Friday, March 7, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced sentencing for 42-year-old diesel mechanic Leon Martin of Lititz, Pa. Along with Martin, New Oxford, Pa.-based Frock Brothers Trucking Inc. also received probation and fines for its part in conspiring and violating the Clean Air Act.
According to prosecutors, between 2018 and October 2023, Martin worked as a mechanic at a diesel repair shop in Ephrata, Pa., where he provided reprogramming services for “many companies” – preventing diagnostic system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware.
For his role, Martin was sentenced to two years of probation with three months of a home curfew and was fined $500,000.
“The illegal actions were for the purpose of obtaining economic benefits, including, among other things, reduced or avoidance of repair costs, fuel savings from improved fuel economy on modified vehicles and reduced expenditures on diesel exhaust fluids required to operate emissions systems components,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Officials also said that, as part of the scheme, Frock Brothers would remove the engine control modules from the vehicles and ship them to Martin for reprogramming. After Martin “tuned” the ECMs, they then were shipped back to the trucking company to be reinstalled on the trucks.
“As a result of the emissions systems tampering, Frock Brothers vehicles emitted excess emissions, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, into the atmosphere,” prosecutors said.
For its part in the scheme, Frock Brothers Trucking received two years of probation and an $80,000 fine.
“Tampering with required emissions monitoring devices in heavy-duty vehicles results in a significant increase in air pollution,” Allison Landsman, EPA-CID special agent in charge, said in a statement. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that we will hold violators accountable for breaking our environmental laws.” LL
Credit: Source link
