Clark Co. Auto Shop Co-Owner Dumps on Environment, Gets Caught

Tacoma – Tracy Coiteux, a 44-year-old La Center, Washington resident and co-owner of Clark County’s Racing Performance Maintenance Northwest (RPM) automotive businesses, has been convicted of conspiracy and eleven felony counts of violating the federal Clean Air Act.

Coiteux, a co-owner of RPM and its related sales company RPM Motors and Sales NW, was found guilty by a jury following a three-day trial. The jury deliberated for just three hours before returning guilty verdicts. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle scheduled sentencing for August 19, 2024.

Coiteux and her husband, Sean Coiteux, 50, and the service manager, Nick Akerill, 44, were initially charged with conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and eleven specific violations of the Clean Air Act for tampering with the emissions-monitoring system on vehicles between January 2018 and November 2020. Sean Coiteux pleaded guilty in March 2024 and is scheduled for sentencing on August 13, 2024, while Akerill pleaded guilty to state pollution charges and was sentenced to work 30 days on a Clark County work crew.

The investigation into RPM’s emissions tampering began when a former employee notified the EPA that the company was performing the unlawful modifications, which are known as “deletes” and “tunes.” These modifications are marketed to truck owners as improving vehicle power and performance, but in reality, a single truck that has been deleted and tuned can cause the same amount of pollution as up to 1,200 trucks with compliant emissions systems.

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, the defendants charged their customers fees of about $2,000 per truck to remove emissions control systems required by federal law, then modified the legally required software to ensure the vehicle’s pollution remained within legal limits. The company took in over $500,000 for the modifications between January 2018 and January 2021, with some 375 instances of removal of the emissions control hardware and software documented.

Conspiracy is punishable by up to five years in prison, while each violation of the Clean Air Act is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Settle after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. The case is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson and Cindy Chang, along with Environmental Protection Agency Special Assistant United States Attorney Karla Gebel Perrin.