Michigan Resident and Heavy-Duty Diesel Parts Supplier Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the Clean Air Act

Press Release

Kyle Offringa and Highway and Heavy Parts, LLC Admit to Conspiring with Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck Operators to Tamper with Emissions-Control Monitoring Devices

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Kyle Offringa, age 33, of Caledonia, Michigan, and Highway and Heavy Parts, LLC ("HHP"), a heavy-duty diesel parts supplier headquartered in Coleman, Michigan, recently pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act ("CAA"). United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA")'s Criminal Investigations Division ("CID"), Northeast Area Branch,made the announcement. Offringa pled guilty to the indictment today and HHP pled guilty to the indictment last month.

Offringa and HHP were indicted by a grand jury in the Northern District of New York earlier this year. As alleged in the indictment, the purpose of the CAA is, among other things, "to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation's air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population." Pursuant to the CAA, the EPA enacted regulations that required heavy-duty diesel engine manufacturers to limit emissions on those engines. To comply with these regulations, manufacturers install hardware components, including filters, exhaust recirculation systems, and exhaust aftertreatment systems. Heavy-duty diesel trucks are also required under the CAA to maintain an onboard-diagnostic system ("OBD"), which monitors the functionality of the hardware emissions control components. If the OBD 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. This is designed to incentivize truck operators to repair any faulty components.

As further alleged in the indictment, truck operators deleted the emissions control hardware on their heavy-duty diesel trucks, which significantly increased pollution emitted by those trucks but allowed them to run at higher horsepower, with greater fuel efficiency, and with reduced maintenance cost.

As part of their pleas, Offringa and HHP admitted that between at least June 2017 and March 2019, they conspired together and with HHP's customers, including coconspirators DAIM Logistics, Inc. and Patrick Oare of Fultonville, New York, to tamper with ("tune") the emission control monitoring devices and systems of numerous diesel vehicles. As part of the conspiracy, HHP referred its customers who had removed emissions hardware on their heavy-duty diesel trucks to Offringa, who then reprogrammed the OBDs to bypass the CAA monitoring functions so the trucks would remain operational in exchange for a fee of $1,000 to $1,500 per OBD. HHP charged its customers approximately $250 for each tune performed by Offringa on top of what Offringa charged.

HHP is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2024, and Offringa is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino in Albany. If HHP's plea agreement is accepted, it will be required to pay a fine of $25,000. Offringa has agreed to pay a fine of $100,000 and also faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a term of supervised release of up to three years. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Coconspirators Patrick Oare and DAIM Logistics, Inc., of Fultonville, New York, previously pled guilty to violating the CAA and are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino in Albany on October 23, 2024.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division (EPA CID) is investigating the case, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police. Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin S. Clark is prosecuting the case.

Updated September 17, 2024