The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced that Hino Motors, Ltd., a Toyota subsidiary, has pled guilty to criminal charges related to a years-long scheme to defraud the U.S. government and consumers by submitting false engine certification applications. The company was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Goldsmith to pay a $521.76 million fine, serve a five-year probation during which it cannot import diesel engines into the U.S., and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program. Additionally, Hino Motors faces a $1.087 billion forfeiture.
From 2010 to 2019, Hino engineers falsified emissions data, improperly conducted tests, and concealed software that could impact emission control systems, violating the Clean Air Act. The fraudulent actions led to the importation and sale of over 105,000 non-compliant engines, primarily installed in heavy-duty trucks.
What people are saying
In a recent quote, Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said, “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. Today’s plea and sentencing demonstrates that companies who intentionally evade our nation’s environmental laws, including by fabricating data to feign compliance with those laws, deserve punishment and will be held criminally accountable.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) added, “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. We are committed to upholding the rule of law by prosecuting fraud and enforcing our Clean Air Act emissions standards.”
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