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Defendant Hacked Pollution Controls on Diesel Trucks
A 44-year-old Columbia, Indiana man was sentenced to four months in prison and a $25,000 fine for conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller.
Tacoma – Jonathan Achtemeier pleaded guilty in November 2024, admitting that between 2019 and 2022, he tampered with the monitoring devices on hundreds of vehicles nationwide.
Achtemeier advertised his services on the internet and was able to tamper with the monitoring devices in diesel trucks remotely. Between 2019 and 2021, Achtemeier’s company grossed $4.3 million.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright said, “This offense is characterized as a lack of respect for the law and a flaunting of the law…. The harm that comes from this type of offense is serious.”
According to records filed in the case, Achtemeier conspired with mechanics in garages and operators of truck fleets to manipulate the monitoring software installed on diesel trucks.
Achtemeier disabled the monitoring software on his client’s trucks by connecting to laptops he had provided to various coconspirators. Some of the coconspirators would pass the laptop on to others seeking to have the anti-pollution parameters disabled or modified on their trucks.
Removing the pollution control equipment and disabling the monitoring device results in trucks polluting at 30 to 1,200 times the level of a truck with pollution control systems. Tampering with a monitoring device is a violation of the Clean Air Act.
Achtemeier charged as much as $4,500 per truck for work that often took him two hours or less. Achtemeier advertised his services on social media nationwide using images of semi-trucks spewing black exhaust.
The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Environmental Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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