Performance tweaks can come with bad effects.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say they have reached a settlement with Punch It Performance and Tuning, and Michael Paul Schimmack resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the manufacture and sale of aftermarket products that defeat the emissions control systems of motor vehicles.
EPA has recently begun a National Compliance Initiative on Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines.
Examples of other similar civil judicial settlements are EPA’s recent actions with Performance Diesel Inc. and Derive Systems. To report a violation, send an email to tampering@epa.gov or submit the information through the EPA’s website.
Also included are other companies and individuals close to Schimmack (Defendants).The complaint also alleged that certain defendants fraudulently transferred assets after learning of the EPA claims in an effort to avoid payment of penalties in the case. EPA stared the case in 2016.
The defendants manufactured and/or sold more than 20,000 aftermarket defeat devices. These products were designed for a range of certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines including vehicles manufactured by Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler. The aftermarket products sold by defendants included hardware components and electronic tuning software, known as “tunes,” that hack into and reprogram a motor vehicle’s electronic control module to alter engine performance and enable the removal of filters, catalysts and other emissions controls that reduce air pollution.
Under the settlement, under review at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, defendants, who have stopped manufacturing and selling defeat device products, will pay a civil penalty of $850,000. The defendants also agree to stay out of the business of selling the illegal products, to surrender the computer code used in the products and to stop providing technical and warranty support for the defeat devices already sold.
“EPA will vigorously pursue and prosecute companies who attempt to circumvent emission controls that are required to reduce air pollution,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Susan Bodine. “This case illustrates why stopping the manufacture, sale, and installation of aftermarket defeat devices is an EPA National Compliance Initiative.”
Under the CAA, it is illegal to manufacture or sell parts or components for motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative elements of design that were installed by the vehicle or engine original equipment manufacturer to comply with CAA emission standards. The complaint filed in the case alleges that each act of manufacturing and each sale constitutes a violation of the CAA.
The complaint says that after EPA notified the defendants in 2016 of its intent to take enforcement action, the corporate defendants transferred real estate and large sums of money to one or more of the individual defendants in their personal capacities. The U.S. alleges these were fraudulent transfers under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act.
In addition to their civil penalty of $850,000, defendants will also do the following:
- Surrender all intellectual property to EPA, including programming, files, software, source code, design, instructions, or other information that could be used to manufacture tunes;
- Certify that no products have been manufactured or sold since March 2017;
- Certify that no intellectual property has been transferred to any party other than EPA; and
- Refuse to provide technical support or honor warranty claims for products subject to the consent decree.
Members of the public can help protect our environment by identifying and reporting environmental violations. Learn more here: https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Punch It Performance and Tuning to Stop Selling Illegal Devices to Defeat Emissions Controls
Performance tweaks can come with bad effects.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say they have reached a settlement with Punch It Performance and Tuning, and Michael Paul Schimmack resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the manufacture and sale of aftermarket products that defeat the emissions control systems of motor vehicles.
EPA has recently begun a National Compliance Initiative on Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines.
Examples of other similar civil judicial settlements are EPA’s recent actions with Performance Diesel Inc. and Derive Systems. To report a violation, send an email to tampering@epa.gov or submit the information through the EPA’s website.
Also included are other companies and individuals close to Schimmack (Defendants).The complaint also alleged that certain defendants fraudulently transferred assets after learning of the EPA claims in an effort to avoid payment of penalties in the case. EPA stared the case in 2016.
The defendants manufactured and/or sold more than 20,000 aftermarket defeat devices. These products were designed for a range of certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines including vehicles manufactured by Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler. The aftermarket products sold by defendants included hardware components and electronic tuning software, known as “tunes,” that hack into and reprogram a motor vehicle’s electronic control module to alter engine performance and enable the removal of filters, catalysts and other emissions controls that reduce air pollution.
Under the settlement, under review at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, defendants, who have stopped manufacturing and selling defeat device products, will pay a civil penalty of $850,000. The defendants also agree to stay out of the business of selling the illegal products, to surrender the computer code used in the products and to stop providing technical and warranty support for the defeat devices already sold.
“EPA will vigorously pursue and prosecute companies who attempt to circumvent emission controls that are required to reduce air pollution,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Susan Bodine. “This case illustrates why stopping the manufacture, sale, and installation of aftermarket defeat devices is an EPA National Compliance Initiative.”
Under the CAA, it is illegal to manufacture or sell parts or components for motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative elements of design that were installed by the vehicle or engine original equipment manufacturer to comply with CAA emission standards. The complaint filed in the case alleges that each act of manufacturing and each sale constitutes a violation of the CAA.
The complaint says that after EPA notified the defendants in 2016 of its intent to take enforcement action, the corporate defendants transferred real estate and large sums of money to one or more of the individual defendants in their personal capacities. The U.S. alleges these were fraudulent transfers under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act.
In addition to their civil penalty of $850,000, defendants will also do the following:
Members of the public can help protect our environment by identifying and reporting environmental violations. Learn more here: https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.