Car Parts Maker Fined $1 Million for Selling Illegal Devices to Evade Emissions Standards

Sinister Diesel, a California company that manufactured and sold devices to remove emissions control systems from diesel vehicles, pleaded guilty in federal court on Aug. 1 to criminal charges and agreed to pay $1 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for evading the Clean Air Act.

Heavy traffic moves along the 101 freeway in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

A maker of aftermarket vehicle products called “delete devices,” which are used to disable a vehicle’s emissions control equipment, will pay $1 million for violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Diesel performance parts manufacturer Sinister Diesel of Roseville, California, pleaded guilty on Aug. 1 to criminal charges in federal court in Sacramento. The company was charged with conspiracy to violate the CAA and defraud the United States, and with violating the CAA by tampering with the monitoring device of an emissions control system of a diesel truck, according to a statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ).