SPOKANE — Four business owners in the West were indicted by a federal jury last month for allegedly smuggling illegal devices meant to skirt federal emissions standards across the border and distributing them across the U.S., in violation of the Clean Air Act.
John Wesley Owens of Manson, and Joshua Wesley Owens of Mapleton, Utah, were charged along with their companies Diesel Truck Products, DPF Delete Shop and Fulfillment Solutions & More.
Two Canadians were also among the indicted. Kevin Paul Dodd of Maple Ridge, B.C., his companies Evolution Auto Performance and Evo Tunes, and Philip John Sweeney of Coquitlam, B.C., and his company KX Wheels were also charged.
The indictment alleges the men conspired to smuggle and distribute hardware designed to disable controls on diesel trucks that would otherwise decrease dangerous emissions and pollutants across the border. From 2015 to 2023, the Owenses bought over $33 million in those devices from Dodd and Sweeney and brought them into Eastern Washington, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Washington.
Joshua Owens also allegedly told Dodd in an email he was “on borrowed time with the EPA” and started a new business addressed in the Cayman Islands. The indictment says the Owenses and their businesses received around $74 million in revenue for selling the devices online.
The devices violate the Clean Air Act, enacted in 1963 and further amended to regulate air emissions and protect the environment from pollutants.
In a news conference Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref stood alongside FBI, EPA and IRS investigators condemning those who want to pollute the environment and launder money to do it. Her office has filed eight environmental protection cases since 2022.
“Air quality is critical for thriving communities. Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions like asthma. Respiratory illnesses can also worsen existing heart and lung disease, especially in children and the elderly,” she said. “We need to protect our air.”
Waldref’s office started the Environmental Task Force, meant to protect public health, in March. It brings together federal, state and local agencies to focus on environmental enforcement, Waldref said.
