Not only did Rudy’s Performance Parts allegedly sell a quarter-million ‘defeat devices,’ it apparently did so using stolen branding
- The U.S. Department of Justice just levelled its heaviest set of fines yet for diesel-emissions defeat devices—some US$10 million in in total
- That’s the amount to be paid out by Rudy’s Performance Parts and owner Aaron Rudolf, who the DoJ says sold a quarter-million defeat devices
- The company also allegedly sold thousands of products that falsely imitated the branding of other tuners
If it wasn’t already blindingly obvious that the American government is dead-serious about violations to the Clean Air Act, the latest penalty levelled by the justice department, its largest yet, makes that abundantly clear. The feds have come down hard on a company called Rudy’s Performance Parts, throwing the book at them with a fine of no less than US$10 million.
In this case, the business and its owner, Aaron Rudolf, have agreed to pay a total of US$10 million towards criminal fines and civil penalties. Unsmiling people ordered Rudy’s to pay a criminal fine of US$2.4 million and to complete a three-year period of organizational probation; while Rudolf, who previously pleaded guilty to tampering with approximately 300 diesel trucks through the installation of defeat devices, was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to pay a US$600,000 criminal fine.
As for the bulk of the monies cited in that US$10-million headline, that comes from a US$7-million judgment against both the company and its owner. Separate from the criminal actions, this was brought by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, and has been wending its way through the courts for a couple of years.
“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. “Those selling defeat devices are willing to pollute the environment so that they can personally profit,” raged U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. This crowd ain’t playing.
Court docs suggest Rudy’s top-selling product was the Mini Maxx delete tuner, a piece of kit originally manufactured by another company which was identified in court documents as “Company A.” Rudy’s also sold the XRT Pro, another Company A delete tuner. After Company A stopped making these tuners, Rudy’s is said to have conspired with others to manufacture imitation Company A tuners. In total, it is suggested by the courts that Rudy’s sold nearly of these 50,000 imitation tuners, good for about $33 million in revenue.
In all, the civil lawsuit alleges that from at least 2014 through mid-2019, Rudy’s and Rudolf manufactured and sold over 250,000 products designed to remove or disable EPA-mandated emissions controls.
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