The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced that U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Goldsmith for the Eastern District of Michigan has accepted Hino Motors, Ltd.’s guilty plea to a one-count criminal information charging it with having engaged in a multi-year criminal conspiracy to defraud both the United States government and American consumers and illicitly smuggle goods into the country. (Read AutoInformed.com on: Toyota’s Hino Motors Emissions Fraud – $1.6B Plea Deal)
“Hino falsely certified compliance with the Clean Air Act so that it could profit off Americans by sending illegal, polluting engines into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Judge Goldsmith also sentenced Hino Motors, a Toyota subsidiary, to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation during which it is prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has manufactured into the United States, and implementing a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure. The court also entered a $1.087 billion forfeiture money judgment against the company.
“Hino unlawfully imported over 105,000 engines that did not comply with U.S. emissions standards and lied about what it was doing. Hino’s criminal conduct gave it an unfair business advantage over other law-abiding companies, including American companies, and generated over $1 billion in gross proceeds,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We are committed to upholding the rule of law by prosecuting fraud and enforcing our Clean Air Act emissions standards.”
“Our office is steadfast in its commitment to holding corporate actors accountable when they lie to government regulators, illicitly smuggle goods into our county, and then fraudulently sell those goods to American consumers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“By pleading guilty, Hino Motors, Ltd. has admitted to orchestrating a deliberate and years long fraud scheme that put profit over principle,” said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. “It doesn’t matter how complex the scheme is, the FBI is committed to holding individuals and organizations responsible for their actions.”
Special agents of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and FBI’s Detroit Field Office investigated the criminal case.
Hino Motors Fined $1.6B for Emissions Fraud
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced that U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Goldsmith for the Eastern District of Michigan has accepted Hino Motors, Ltd.’s guilty plea to a one-count criminal information charging it with having engaged in a multi-year criminal conspiracy to defraud both the United States government and American consumers and illicitly smuggle goods into the country. (Read AutoInformed.com on: Toyota’s Hino Motors Emissions Fraud – $1.6B Plea Deal)
“Hino falsely certified compliance with the Clean Air Act so that it could profit off Americans by sending illegal, polluting engines into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Judge Goldsmith also sentenced Hino Motors, a Toyota subsidiary, to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation during which it is prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has manufactured into the United States, and implementing a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure. The court also entered a $1.087 billion forfeiture money judgment against the company.
“Hino unlawfully imported over 105,000 engines that did not comply with U.S. emissions standards and lied about what it was doing. Hino’s criminal conduct gave it an unfair business advantage over other law-abiding companies, including American companies, and generated over $1 billion in gross proceeds,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We are committed to upholding the rule of law by prosecuting fraud and enforcing our Clean Air Act emissions standards.”
“Our office is steadfast in its commitment to holding corporate actors accountable when they lie to government regulators, illicitly smuggle goods into our county, and then fraudulently sell those goods to American consumers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“By pleading guilty, Hino Motors, Ltd. has admitted to orchestrating a deliberate and years long fraud scheme that put profit over principle,” said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. “It doesn’t matter how complex the scheme is, the FBI is committed to holding individuals and organizations responsible for their actions.”
Special agents of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and FBI’s Detroit Field Office investigated the criminal case.