Four business owners have been charged in a large-scale plan to unlawfully import tens of millions of dollars in contraband emissions defeat devices from Canada into the United States.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, on October 18, a federal grand jury in Washington State indicted John Wesley Owens and Joshua Wesley Owens; their companies, Diesel Truck Products, Inc., d/b/DPF Delete Shop Inc., and Fulfillment Solutions & More, LLC; Kevin Paul Dodd; his companies, Evolution Auto Performance and Evo Tunes Inc.; and Philip John Sweeney and his company, KX Wheels.
The accusation against Owens, Sweeney, Dodd, and their companies is that they conspired to violate the Clean Air Act by smuggling contraband and illegal defeat devices into the United States. Authorities have also charged the Owens and their firms with money laundering.
According to officials, the Owens paid more than $33 million for illegal emissions defeat devices from Dodd, Sweeney, and their companies between December 2015 and November 2023. Dodd, Sweeney, and the Owens smuggled and illegally imported these devices from Canada into Eastern Washington before selling and distributing them to customers across the United States.
According to the filings, between 2017 and 2023, the Owens and their enterprises earned more than $74 million in revenue from online sales of pollution defeat devices.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the scheme can be described as follows:
According to the indictment, in the Summer of 2020, the Owens, following requests for information about their business from the Environmental Protection Agency, decided to shut down their business website and re-launch under a new name. In May 2020, Joshua Owens sent an email to Dodd and said, “In June I’m winding down this ‘legal entity’ and staring up another one. Feels like I’m on borrowed time with the EPA.” According to the indictment, in July 2020, Joshua Owens then started a new website, www.dpfdeleteshop.com, and new business name “DPF Delete Shop, Inc.” listing a business address in the Cayman Islands, and continued to use this website to import, sell, and distribute illegal defeat devices, despite repeated warnings that they were illegal. The indictment alleges that in February 2023, when a customer complained by email and threatened to report Josh Owens and DPF Delete Shop Inc. to the EPA, Josh Owens responded by email “We have all your info. You’ll be the guy we serve up on a silver platter to the EPA if it comes down to that.”
The indictment further alleges that the Owens and Sweeney conspired to disguise the shipments of illegal emission control devices from Canada into Eastern Washington. In May 2022, Sweeney emailed John Owens and wrote, “John We have lots of ways that we can get stuff across the border, I will give you a call later I just need you to be complacent and how we do it and I don’t wanna do it over email.”
“Safe and healthy air quality is critical for a thriving community. The Clean Air Act provides important safeguards that limit the amount of harmful emissions from diesel vehicles. Attempting to profit from evading pollution control systems puts the health and safety of everyone in our community at risk, especially children and individuals who suffer from asthma and respiratory illnesses,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. “Strong and fair enforcement of environmental and public health laws ensures a safer community for all families to live, learn, play, and work.”
The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service all conducted investigations into this case.
