Oregon truck repair shop owner gets probation for violating environmental policy

(The Center Square) - The owner of a Lane County, Oregon, diesel repair shop and his business received a federal court sentence this week for intentionally violating the Clean Air Act.

Diesel & Offroad Authority, LLC, in Veneta, Oregon, and its owner, Christopher Paul Kaufman, 39, received three years’ probation and must pay $150,000 in criminal fines. Plus, Kauffman must include a disclaimer on his company’s website saying that Diesel and Offroad Authority no longer offers “delete and tune” tampering services since they are illegal, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

“The defendants in this case illegally tampered with the onboard diagnostics systems and removed the emissions control components from hundreds of diesel trucks,” Special Agent in Charge Lance Ehrig of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division in Oregon said. “Their actions directly contributed to the release of significant amounts of dangerous air pollutants, which leads to serious health conditions such as respiratory diseases like asthma. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that individuals and their companies will be held criminally responsible if they deliberately threaten human health and the environment by violating our nation’s environmental laws.”

From 2018 to 2022, Diesel & Offroad authority disabled and tampered emissions control systems in at least 184 diesel vehicles, violating the Clean Air Act.

Diesel & Offroad Authority charged its customers about $2,300 apiece for the emissions modifications and made over $378,000 for the illegal services over four years.

Kaufman oversaw and partook in the illegal vehicle modifications as the owner of Diesel & Offroad Authority. This included procuring automotive parts used in the process and “engaging in and directing employees in the removal of emissions control equipment,” the release said.

Diesel & Offroad Authority and Kaufman were charged by federal criminal information for violating the Clean Air Act by tampering with pollution monitoring devices on March 12, 2024. They pleaded guilty on April 10, 2024.