Louisiana Company and Owner Fined $3.1 Million for Using Custom Devices and Software to Tamper with Diesel Emissions
On December 17, 2024, Power Performance Enterprises Inc. (PPEI), a Louisiana-based company, and its president, Kory B. Willis, were sentenced in federal court for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act by tampering with the emissions control systems of diesel trucks. The case, heard in the Eastern District of California, revealed the company’s widespread illegal activities that resulted in severe environmental harm.
U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Willis to 10 months of home confinement, which is part of a three-year probation term. In addition, both PPEI and Willis were jointly ordered to pay $1.55 million in criminal fines. The total fines and penalties—encompassing both criminal and civil penalties—amount to $3.1 million. PPEI was also sentenced to five years of probation.
PPEI and Willis had been involved in the illegal manufacture and sale of custom software known as “delete tunes” that allowed diesel trucks to bypass mandated emissions control devices. These tunes, which modify a vehicle’s engine parameters, were designed to disable emissions control systems, allowing trucks to emit far more pollution than legally permitted. This led to significantly higher emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide, non-methane hydrocarbons, and particulate matter.
According to court documents, from 2009 to 2019, PPEI and Willis were among the most prominent developers of delete tunes in the country. The company tuned more than 175,000 vehicles, becoming a major player in the illegal tuning market. Internal records indicated that PPEI typically sold over $1 million in product each month, with Willis claiming that his company was the largest custom tuning operation in the world, tuning more than 500 vehicles a week.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculated that between 2013 and 2018, PPEI’s delete tunes caused over 100 million pounds of excess NOx emissions, a pollutant linked to severe respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, and other health problems. EPA tests showed that a fully deleted truck could emit 310 times more NOx and 1,400 times more non-methane hydrocarbons than a truck with functional emissions controls. Diesel emissions have been found to cause over 21,000 deaths annually in the U.S. and can lead to long-term health problems for vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and individuals with pre-existing respiratory conditions.
PPEI’s illegal products directly undermined the Clean Air Act, which is designed to regulate and reduce air pollution from vehicles. These modifications contributed significantly to the deterioration of air quality across the U.S., especially in areas with high traffic volumes, such as cities with large diesel truck fleets.
In response to the sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) stated, “The software that Mr. Willis and PPEI manufactured and sold reversed the effects of emissions control requirements for vehicles driven on our country’s roads, posing unacceptable risk to the health of our citizens.” He further emphasized that this sentencing demonstrated the Department of Justice’s commitment to enforcing the Clean Air Act and ensuring that emissions controls remain functional to protect public health and the environment.
U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California added, “Environmental laws that control diesel pollution safeguard the environment and the health of the public… those who would sell illegal defeat devices should stand warned: the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who place profit above the public’s health and the environment.”
David M. Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, also underscored the EPA’s efforts, saying, “EPA will continue to leverage all of its enforcement tools and authorities to stop illegal behavior that puts our communities at risk.”
The case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, and the prosecution was handled by Senior Counsel Krishna S. Dighe and Trial Attorney Stephen J. Foster of the ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Lydon of the Eastern District of California.
