North Carolina-based automotive parts company, Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc., specializing in car parts and accessories, and its owner Aaron Rudolf, have been penalized with a staggering $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties. This legal action comes as a result of their involvement in manufacturing, selling, and installing “defeat devices.” These devices are designed to bypass or disable essential emissions controls in vehicles, a serious violation of environmental regulations.
Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc., a company known in the car parts sector, officially pleaded guilty in a Washington, D.C. federal court for conspiracy to breach the Clean Air Act. Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the District of Columbia sentenced Rudy’s to a criminal fine of $2.4 million, coupled with a three-year organizational probation period, as per their plea agreement. Aaron Rudolf, the owner and CEO of Rudy’s, had previously admitted guilt for the same conspiracy. His actions included tampering with monitoring devices on approximately 300 diesel trucks using defeat devices. Rudolf’s sentencing in April included three years of probation and a $600,000 criminal fine.
Adding to the criminal proceedings, the Department of Justice, representing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), initiated a civil lawsuit against Rudy’s and Rudolf in 2022. This suit addressed violations of the Clean Air Act through the manufacturing, selling, and installation of defeat devices, along with inadequate responses to EPA information requests. A consent decree filed on July 29 mandates Rudy’s and Rudolf to pay a $7 million civil penalty. Furthermore, they are legally prohibited from producing, selling, or installing defeat devices, transferring related intellectual property, and investing in or profiting from defeat devices made or sold by other entities. This decree is currently awaiting court approval.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division emphasized the dangers of defeat devices, stating, “Defeat devices, like those sold by Rudy’s car parts company, can cause severe pollution, posing significant health risks and environmental damage. This legal outcome underscores our commitment to rigorously enforce the Clean Air Act and its emissions control standards for all motor vehicles.”
Echoing this sentiment, Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance commented, “For too long, companies such as Rudy’s Performance Parts have been illegally installing defeat devices to circumvent the crucial public health safeguards of the Clean Air Act, harming communities nationwide. This announcement sends a clear message: the EPA will aggressively pursue both criminal and civil penalties until this blatant illegal activity is completely eradicated.”
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia highlighted the profit-driven motive behind such actions: “Those who trade in defeat devices prioritize personal gain over environmental well-being. Today’s sentencing unequivocally demonstrates the severe repercussions for trafficking in these illegal devices. Any entity contemplating the sale or installation of these devices should be acutely aware of the substantial penalties involved.”
U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston for the Middle District of North Carolina reinforced the importance of the Clean Air Act, stating, “The Clean Air Act’s protections are vital for the health and safety of our communities. Tampering with emissions controls introduces harmful pollutants into our air, jeopardizing both public health and the environment. Settlements like these are crucial to ensure accountability for those who violate the Clean Air Act and to prevent detrimental air pollution.”
Court documents from the criminal case reveal that Rudy’s car parts business sold defeat devices, specifically “delete tuners,” which interfered with vehicles’ on-board diagnostic systems (OBDs). Their top-selling product was the Mini Maxx delete tuner, initially manufactured by “Company A.” Rudy’s also marketed the XRT Pro, another delete tuner from Company A. When Company A ceased production, Rudy’s conspired to produce counterfeit Company A tuners. They partnered with a software technician to convert tuners into these imitations from July 2015 to December 2016, after which the technician discontinued the conversions.
Subsequently, Rudy’s undertook in-house manufacturing of imitation delete tuners, investing $850,000 in a laptop equipped with the necessary software. This in-house operation spanned from approximately December 2016 to July 2018. In total, Rudy’s sold around 43,900 imitation tuners, generating approximately $33 million in revenue from these car parts.
The civil lawsuit further alleges that from 2014 to mid-2019, Rudy’s and Rudolf manufactured and sold over 250,000 products intended to remove or disable EPA-mandated emissions controls. These car parts included hardware like plates to block exhaust gas recirculation and pipes to replace pollution treatment components in vehicle exhaust systems.
Disabling emissions controls through such car parts and tampering with diesel truck OBDs leads to a significant increase in harmful emissions, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and non-methane hydrocarbons. Diesel exhaust is classified as a mobile source air toxic, posing both cancer and non-cancer health risks. The EPA estimates that the products sold by Rudy’s equated to adding pollution equivalent to over 1 million vehicles to American roads.
The $7 million civil penalty was determined based on Rudy’s and Rudolf’s financial capacity. The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division led the criminal investigation. Senior Counsel Krishna S. Dighe and Trial Attorney Stephen J. Foster of the ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Blackwell, prosecuted the criminal case. Senior Counsel Elizabeth L. Loeb of ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cassie Crawford and Rebecca Mayer, and EPA Attorney-Adviser Lauren Tozzi managed the civil case.
The consent decree is lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval. More details and comment submission information are available on the Justice Department’s website. The EPA prioritizes stopping the manufacture, sale, and installation of illegal delete devices. Further information on EPA’s criminal enforcement actions on defeat devices can be found on their enforcement press release pages.
