Indiana man sentenced to prison for conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington Byline: Emily Langlie Dateline: Tacoma, Washington Date: 14 February 2025 Subjects: American Government , Crime, Trucking

Defendant’s company took in more than $4 Million remotely deleting pollution control software on diesel trucks

Tacoma – A 44-year-old Columbia, Indiana man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to four months in prison and a $25,000 fine for conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act for his scheme to interfere with pollution control software on diesel trucks, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Jonathan Achtemeier pleaded guilty in November 2024, admitting that between 2019 and 2022, he tampered with the monitoring devices on hundreds of vehicles nationwide so those trucks would not detect that their owners removed pollution control hardware systems. 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.”

“From the comfort of his home, this defendant caused environmental damage across the country, tampering with pollution controls on diesel trucks so that they spewed 30 to 1200 times the pollutants of a legally configured truck,” said Acting U. S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. “His motivation was money – but the rest of us will pay the price with dirty air and contamination in our soil and waterways.”

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. Coconspirators who wanted to disable their trucks’ pollution control hardware system—a process commonly known as “deleting”—sought Achtemeier’s help to trick the truck’s software into believing the emissions control systems were still functional, a process known as “tuning.” Monitoring devices on a deleted truck will detect that the pollution control hardware is not functioning and will prevent the truck from running. 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. Once the laptop was hooked up to the truck’s onboard computer, Achtemeier could access it from his computer and tune the computer designed to monitor the pollution control equipment.  Achtemeier could “tune” trucks remotely, which enabled him to maximize his environmental impact and personal profit.

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 at $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. His company operated under the name Voided Warranty Tuning (VWT) or Optimized Ag.

In their request for an 18-month prison sentence and $100,000 fine, prosecutors wrote to the court, “Achtemeier spent years building a business dedicated to illegal tuning. He advertised his services on diesel-focused Facebook groups like West Coast Trucking where he had access to thousands of truck owners and enthusiasts.  He encouraged customers to pass along his name and even provided them computers so they could help friends and neighbors delete their vehicles and use Achtemeier for tuning. This enabled him to quickly grow his business into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.”

The coconspirators in this case have service garages or truck fleets in various areas of Washington State. The trucks that were altered range from pick-ups such as a Dodge R3500 to Kenworth and Freightliner semi-trucks.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Watts Staniar and Dane Westermeyer, with Special Assistant United States Attorney Karla Perrin.  Ms. Perrin is an attorney with the EPA.

Updated February 14, 2025