Charges have been dropped against a Maple Ridge man accused of smuggling “defeat devices,” that allow vehicles to pollute, into the U.S.
Kevin Paul Dodd of Maple Ridge had been facing up to 20 years in a US federal prison. He was one of four business owners indicted for smuggling tens of millions of dollars in emissions defeat devices from Canada into eastern Washington State, according to a press release from the US attorney’s office for that district. The case against him was announced in October 2024.
Then in January this year, the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division posted in social media the case will be dropped, after changes in environmental enforcement in the U.S.
”Today, @TheJusticeDept is exercising its enforcement discretion to no longer pursue criminal charges under the Clean Air Act based on allegations of tampering with onboard diagnostic devices in motor vehicles,” said the tweet on X.
Defeat devices generally tamper with a vehicle’s systems, allowing more emissions to achieve vehicle performance gains.
Prosecutions for illegal pollution have dropped to historic lows during the first year of US President Donald Trump second term, according to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Dodd’s companies Evolution Auto Performance and Evo Tunes were named in the charges. So were co-accused John Wesley Owens of Washington and Joshua Wesley Owens of Utah, and their companies Diesel Truck Products, DPF Delete Shop Inc., and Fulfillment Solutions & More. Philip John Sweeney of Coquitlam and his company KX Wheels, were also accused the alleged scheme to sell contraband emissions defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Under that US act, diesel trucks are required to maintain systems and components that limit harmful emissions of dangerous pollutants such as diesel particulates.
Hardware and computer software designed to disable emissions controls, commonly known as “defeat devices,” can greatly increase the emissions of pollutants.
The indictment alleged the accused and their companies conspired to violate the Clean Air Act, and smuggle contraband and illegal defeat devices into the U.S.
According to the indictment, between December 2015 and November 2023, the Owens purchased more than $33 million in illegal emissions defeat devices from Dodd, Sweeney, and their companies.
The indictment alleges the accused smuggled and illegally imported the defeat devices, then sold and distributed them to customers throughout the US.
The case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, and the Internal Revenue Service.
None of the allegations against Dodd or his co-accused were tested in court.