-
Recent Posts
- Bridgewater Interiors Workers Ratify New UAW Contract
- Mass Production eVTOL Soon? Joby Aviation and Toyota JV
- More Ford Motor Recalls for Rollaways ~740,000 Affected
- IMSA Watkins Glen: Cadillac, Corvette, Porsche Run Solid
- Sudden EV Power Loss – Toyota BZ, Lexus RZ, Subaru Solterra Recalled
- Milestones – 15 Million Honda Accords Sold in U.S.
- UAW to “Practice Pickett” Tomorrow at Woodward MPC
- June 2026 U.S. Auto Sales Forecast Up 3.6%
- BMW Expands Factory Use of Humanoid Robots
- “Disasters” – UAW on NAFTA, U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreements
- Connectivity Snags Haunt Improvements in New-Vehicle Quality
- Trumped! – 2026 Vehicles Sales Forecasts All Down
- Annals of Marketing – Chevrolet Heartbeat of America Revived
- Milestones – Nissan Canton Builds 1 Millionth Frontier Truck
- Porsche AG Board Drastically Cuts 2025 Annual Dividend ~50%
Recent Comments
- Magna International on Magna International Posts Q1 2026 EPS Loss of $0.04
- Council on Foreign Relations on Iran and Strait of Hormuz on AAA – Pump Gasoline Prices Still Soaring
- Autocrat on Stellantis Subordinated Perpetual Hybrid Bonds on Stellantis Posts Full Year 2025 Loss of €22.3B
- Michigan Governor Whitmer on Pew – Confidence in Trump Dips, Fewer Support His Policies
- Porsche Motorsport Daytona Victory on Daytona 24 Hours – Old and New Stars Getting Ready to Run
Archives
Meta
Category Archives: litigation
North Carolina Man Charged in Odometer Fraud Scheme
The United States charged Francis Marimo, of Raleigh, NC with two counts of odometer tampering, according to the Department of Justice statement released today. The charges were filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on 10 April 2013, alleging that from 2008 through 2012, Marimo fraudulently caused odometers in used motor vehicles to be altered to reflect false, low mileages. Continue reading
Posted in aftermarket, auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, Ken Zino, odometer fraud
Leave a comment
Absolute Fuels Guilty in $42 Million Bio-Diesel Credit Scam
A bio-diesel fuel company owner was sentenced to 188 months in prison for crimes connected to an illegal fuels scheme and also fined $175,000 and ordered to pay nearly $55 million in restitution. In what appears to be a badly run government program of renewable fuel tax credits, Jeffrey Gunselman, 30, the owner of Absolute Fuels was able to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency for more than a year by falsely representing that he was in the business of producing bio-diesel fuel. Continue reading
CountryMark Refining to Install $18 Million in Pollution Controls to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations at its Indiana Refinery
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that CountryMark Refining and Logistics has agreed to pay a $167,000 civil penalty, perform environmental projects totaling more than $180,000, and spend $18 million on new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations at its refinery, located in Mount Vernon, Indiana. Continue reading
Posted in environment, fuel economy or emissions, litigation, news
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, caa, clean air act, countrymark, flaring, Ken Zino, refineries
Leave a comment
Clean Green Fuel Owner Guilty in $9 Million in Bio-Diesel Scam
A U.S. District Judge today sentenced Rodney R. Hailey, of Perry Hall, Maryland to nearly 12 years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling $9 million in renewable fuel credits that he falsely claimed were produced by his company, Clean Green Fuel, LLC. Hailey, age 34, was convicted in June of 2012 on eight counts of wire fraud, 32 counts of money laundering, and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. He has been detained since the guilty verdict.
Hailey made more than $9.1 million from selling the false credits, and used the proceeds of the scheme to purchase luxury vehicles, including BMWs, a Mercedes Benz, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and others, as well as real estate and more than $80,000 in diamond jewelry. In all of these transactions, Hailey generally used cash or checks drawn on accounts he controlled to make the purchase, including a check for $645,330.15 to buy his home in Maryland. Continue reading
U.S. Sues Lance Armstrong for False Racing Sponsorship Claims
From 1996 through 2004, the USPS sponsored a professional cycling team owned by Tailwind and its predecessors. Between 2001 and 2004 alone, the Postal Service paid $31 million in sponsorship fees. (Imagine how much could be recovered only the Justice Department went after its friends at the Wall Street firms, banks and ratings agencies that cost taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars because of false claims in the sub-prime mortgage business.)
Continue reading
Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation, people, racing
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, floyd landis, Ken Zino, lance armstrong
Leave a comment
Class Action Suit Filed Against F-150 EcoBoost Engines for Stalling
More than $500,000,000 in damages is requested by 100 plaintiffs in what could be a prolonged image-damaging class action lawsuit about Ford’s claimed fuel economy breakthrough. Ford has issued two service bulletins to dealers about the problem, before redesigning the intake system for the 2013 model year. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, litigation, safety
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, f-150, ford eco-boost lawsuit, Ken Zino
1 Comment
Transocean Pleads Guilty of Environmental Crimes in Gulf Oil Spill. $400 Million in Penalties for its Role in Deepwater Horizon Disaster
Transocean Deepwater pleaded guilty today to a violation of the Clean Water Act for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The drilling company was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney General Holder announced today. Continue reading
Posted in energy, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bp, doj, gulf oil spill, Ken Zino, Macondo well, transoceon
Leave a comment
More Spills in Gulf of Mexico as U.S. Files Suit against ATP Oil
Today the United States filed suit against ATP Oil & Gas Corporation and ATP Infrastructure Partners for civil penalties and injunctive relief under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The complaint alleges unlawful discharges of oil and banned chemical dispersants from the defendants’ floating oil and gas production platform, the ATP Innovator, into the Gulf of Mexico. The drilling rig is operating 45 nautical miles offshore of southeastern Louisiana. Continue reading
Posted in energy, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news
Tagged atp oil & gas, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bp, Ken Zino, oil spills
Leave a comment
BP Sentenced to Pay $4 Billion for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Crimes
Nevertheless, the penalty remains a small fraction of the actual damage caused by pumping at least 5 billion gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This means that BP is paying less than $1 a gallon for the criminal spill and destruction of the environment. Continue reading
Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation, news
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bp, deepwater horizon, gulf oil spill, Ken Zino, Macondo well
2 Comments
Court of Appeals Throws Out EPA Cellulosic Mandate for Refiners
While the enabling legislation was noble at least in its publicly stated intent – the U.S. sends over $1,000,000 a minute to oil exporting nations, many of whom are hostile to us – it was in the end a sordid tale of special interests feeding at the public trough. Worse, the legislation dictated the types and amounts of fuel to be used to gain energy independence – in effect a dreaded and ineffective design standard – instead of a performance standard that sets broad goals and lets industry and the marketplace work out the issues. Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, litigation, news
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, biofuels, cellulosic, eisa, ethanol, Ken Zino
Leave a comment
Second Alabama Cop to Serve Time for I-65 Motorist Thefts
A second Alabama police officer has been sentenced to serve time because of his thefts from motorists on I-65. Former Fort Deposit police officer Carlos Tyson Bennett, 37, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $500 in restitution. Bennett stole money from motorists during traffic stops with another ex Fort Deposit cop, Jessie Alan Fuller, on Interstate 65 in 2009. Continue reading
Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Indicted for Odometer Tampering
A federal grand jury in Philadelphia charged Kyle Novitsky, 45, and Judith Aloe, 52, both of North Miami Beach, Florida with making false odometer statements, securities fraud and conspiracy, the Justice Department announced today. Continue reading
Virginia Man Jailed for Selling Counterfeit GM Diagnostic Equipment
A Virginia man was sentenced today in federal court to serve one year and one day in prison for selling counterfeit General Motors automotive diagnostic equipment used by mechanics to identify problems with GM vehicles. Continue reading
Ex Ford EVP David Thursfield Sentenced to Jail over Divorce
David Thursfield, a former executive vice president of Ford Motor Company and then a top Cerberus executive, has been sentenced to two years in jail in Great Britain for allegedly hiding assets during a contentious divorce settlement in 2005. Continue reading
Posted in litigation, people
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, cerebus, ford motor, Ken Zino, thursfield
1 Comment
Transocean Pleads Guilty in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Criminal and Civil Fines Set at a Record $1.4 Billion by Department of Justice
Transocean Deepwater, the operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, will plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines for its conduct during the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Continue reading
Posted in environment, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news, transportation
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bp, deepwater horizon, gulf oil spill, Ken Zino, Macondo well, moex, transoceon
Leave a comment
