Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 28, 2023:
Three companies and 11 individuals have been charged with violating the Clean Air Act in an aftermarket scheme to disable the emissions control systems of heavy-duty trucks.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten, for the Western District of Michigan, said that though the investigation is still ongoing, the case “is one of the largest of its kind ever charged in the United States.”
The three companies charged are Diesel Freak LLC, of Gaylord, Michigan; Accurate Truck Service, LLC, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Griffin Transportation, Inc., also of Grand Rapids. Overdrive has reached out to Diesel Freak for comment and will update this story with any response.
Nine of the 11 individuals charged -- Ryan Lalone, Wade Lalone, Douglas Larsen, Craig Scholten, Ryan Bos, Robert Swainston, Randy Clelland, Scott DeKock, and Glenn Hoezee -- have signed plea agreements indicating their intent to plead guilty to a felony information. The two other defendants, Dustin Rhine and James Sisson, were indicted by a federal grand jury. Arraignments and change of plea hearings will occur on dates to be set by the U.S. District Court.
According to public records filed in the case, Ryan Lalone owns Diesel Freak and Wade Lalone, Rhine, and Sisson were employed there. Accurate Truck Service is owned by Larsen, Scholten, and Bos, and Swainston and Clelland were employed there. Griffin Transportation is owned by Scholten and Bos. DeKock used to own a shipping company, at which Hoezee was employed.
[Related: EPA cracks down on emission system ‘defeat devices’]
