Jamal Saymeh, Clean Air Act Violations, North Carolina 2022

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jamal Saymeh, 59, of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison followed by two years of supervised release for violating the Clean Air Act by fraudulently coding over 15,000 vehicles that would have otherwise failed the required State emissions inspection.

U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney also ordered Saymeh to pay a $1,202,288.50 fine and $82,026 in restitution to the State of North Carolina. The scheme, which involved falsifying vehicle information, allowed Saymeh to receive cash payments from customers that far exceeded what customers would have paid to have an emissions inspection.

Saymeh, the owner and operator of Friendly Auto Repair, used his business to execute the scheme between 2017 and 2022. He falsified information for at least 15,190 vehicles that would have otherwise failed their State emissions inspections.

In some instances, Saymeh executed the scheme by doing ‘county swaps,’ meaning by falsifying in the system the county of registration for 11,568 vehicles from a county that required an emissions test to a county where no emissions testing was required.

U.S. Attorney Dena J. King said, ‘Vehicle emissions testing is required to protect the health and safety of our communities. As part of my Office’s Environmental Justice Initiative, we will hold polluters accountable for their actions and protect communities harmed by environmental violations.’

Saymeh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the Clean Air Act, and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act on December 14, 2022. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation .

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General and the North Carolina Department of Transportation License and Theft Bureau joined U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

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