Coal-Rolling Defeat Devices Will Cost Sinister Diesel $1 Million Federal Fine

• The US Justice Department says Sinister Diesel sold 39,792 defeat devices between 2015 and 2017, and at least 35,960 of those kits disabled exhaust gas recirculation systems.
• The EPA closed more than 200 similar cases against companies making or selling diesel emissions defeat devices as of April 2022.
• As part of the plea agreement, Sinister Diesel paid $500,000 for violations of the Clean Air Act’s “prohibition against the sale or manufacture of devices that bypass, defeat or render inoperative emissions controls.”

Coal still is being rolled out of diesel trucks, as anyone walking, biking, or driving a convertible behind some pickups can attest. Such in-your-face flaunting of diesel soot came into vogue about the time when Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz, and others began importing “clean diesel” models into the US market.

Sinister Diesel, of Roseville, California, sold diesel emissions defeat devices from 2010 to 2020. But this week, parent company Sinister Manufacturing agreed to pay $1 million in criminal and civil fines to the Environmental Protection Agency in a plea deal in federal court in Sacramento. (The court itself was not a party to the plea agreement.)

According to Sinister Diesel’s own sales statistics, the US Justice Department says, the company sold 39,792 defeat devices between October 30, 2015, and July 17, 2017—21 months out of about 10 years covered in the plea agreement. At least 35,960 of those kits disabled exhaust gas recirculation systems, EPA adds.

The EPA closed more than 200 similar cases against companies making or selling diesel emissions defeat devices as of April 2022. Based on cases investigated between 2009 and 2018, the agency estimates more than 550,000 diesel pickup trucks had their emission controls removed.

Its biggest case came against Flo-Pro Performance Exhaust (parent company is Red Deer Exhaust) in 2022, in which the company agreed to pay a $1.6 million penalty. The EPA estimated that Flo-Pro manufactured or sold more than 100,000 defeat devices per year in the US, prior to the 2018 start of its investigation.

By comparison, Volkswagen Group sold about 482,000 VWs and Audis equipped with its 2.0-liter TDI diesels from the 2009 through the 2015 model years that were discovered to have avoided diesel emissions compliance by use of defeat devices, in a case known as “Dieselgate.”

Sinister Manufacturing pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of tampering in the case, with each count carrying a criminal fine of $250,000. It paid an additional $500,000 under a civil consent decree for violations of the Clean Air Act’s “prohibition against the sale or manufacture of devices that bypass, defeat or render inoperative emissions controls.”

The civil consent decree prohibits Sinister from making, selling, or offering to sell defeat devices, or from transferring the intellectual property behind the technology to another manufacturer.

“To ensure compliance with these requirements, Sinister Diesel will implement a robust internal training program and notify its distributors and former customers about the settlements,” according to the Justice Department’s release on the case, which, incidentally, was posted to its website immediately after DOJ posted the 48-page indictment of former President Trump on Tuesday.

Autoweek contacted Sinister Diesel’s Roseville, California, headquarters for comment, where an employee said the company executive authorized to speak might return our call. Sinister Diesel has not yet called back.

Have you ever purchased a diesel emissions defeat device and installed it on your vehicle? If so, why? Please comment below.

Contributing Editor

As a kid growing up in Metro Milwaukee, Todd Lassa impressed childhood friends with his ability to identify cars on the street by year, make, and model. But when American automakers put an end to yearly sheetmetal changes, Lassa turned his attention toward underpowered British sports cars with built-in oil leaks. After a varied early journalism career, he joined Autoweek, then worked in Motor Trend’s and Automobile’s Detroit bureaus, before escaping for Mountain Maryland with his wife, three dogs, three sports cars (only one of them British), and three bicycles. Lassa is founding editor of thehustings.news, which has nothing to do with cars.