SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CHATNEWSTV) — A Louisiana company and its owner were sentenced Wednesday for manufacturing and selling software that disabled emissions controls on diesel trucks, violating the Clean Air Act.
Power Performance Enterprises Inc. (PPEI) and its president, Kory B. Willis, received penalties in federal court for the Eastern District of California. U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Willis to 10 months of home confinement as part of a three-year probation term and ordered Willis and PPEI to pay $1.55 million in criminal fines jointly. PPEI was also sentenced to five years of probation.
“The software created by Mr. Willis and PPEI undermined emissions control systems, putting public health at risk,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This sentencing reinforces that we will enforce the Clean Air Act to protect the environment and public health.”
U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert described the actions as prioritizing profit over public welfare. “Environmental laws like the Clean Air Act are essential to safeguard vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions,” he said.
Willis and PPEI pleaded guilty in March 2022 to tampering with emissions control systems and conspiring to do so. Over a decade, PPEI sold “delete tunes,” software designed to disable emissions controls, and serviced over 175,000 vehicles. EPA estimates that PPEI’s actions led to over 100 million pounds of excess nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.
“Illegal defeat devices pose serious risks to our air quality and public health,” said David M. Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
The EPA’s investigation revealed that “deleted” trucks emitted up to 310 times more NOx and significantly increased other pollutants. Diesel emissions, linked to respiratory diseases and cancer, cause thousands of deaths annually, according to studies.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Counsel Krishna S. Dighe and Trial Attorney Stephen J. Foster of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Lydon for the Eastern District of California.
