A New Jersey man, 44-year-old Jonathan Achtemeier of Columbia, has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for violating the Clean Air Act by disabling pollution controls on diesel trucks across the nation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, during the period of 2019 to 2022, Achtemeier remotely accessed trucks to disable emission software after working with mechanics and operators, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright is scheduled to sentence Achtemeier on February 14, 2025, for his role in this environmental scheme that involved hundreds of vehicles and led to emissions surpassing federal limits by up to 1,200 times.
The method involved was tuning software to trick the trucks into operating without essential pollution control hardware, with trucks ranging from Dodge R3500 pickups to larger Kenworth and Freightliner semi-trucks being altered; this violation of environmental law significantly contributes to air pollution and has legal repercussions including potential imprisonment and fines.
Profiting heavily from this illegal activity, Achtemeier's business practice, operating under the monikers Voided Warranty Tuning (VWT) or Optimized Ag, generated over $4.3 million in gross profits by charging up to $4,500 for each truck mod, sometimes taking less than two hours of actual labor. The coconspirators known to have participated in the conspiracy ran service garages or truck fleets in Washington State, allowing Achtemeier to significantly extend his reach and environmental impact.
This case is under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division and is prosecuted by a team of attorneys that includes Lauren Watts Staniar, Dane Westermeyer, and Seth Wilkinson, with EPA attorney Karla Perrin also serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.
