Father, son charged in $74M Washington smuggling conspiracy to override truck emission systems
KENNEWICK – A father and son have been accused of conspiring to smuggle illegal devices to override emission controls on trucks into central Washington and selling them online for $74 million.
An Eastern Washington grand jury has indicted John Wesley Owens, of Manson, Washington, in Chelan County, and his son Joshua Wesley Owens, of Maple Valley, Washington, in King County, and Mapleton, Utah, on six counts.
They include allegations of smuggling, conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and money laundering conspiracy.
The two men worked for eight years with sellers in Canada, who were also named in the indictment, to buy $33 million of devices and software that override or disable systems required by the Clean Air Act to limit harmful emission of pollutants, according to court documents.
Heavy-duty diesel trucks have on-board diagnostic systems that monitor emission control equipment and put the truck into “limp mode” if they are not working properly. That slows speed to as low as 5 mph.
Pollution control “defeat devices” may be used to avoid repair and maintenance costs for emissions controls or to improve the horsepower, torque or fuel efficiency of diesel engines.
“These unlawful modifications result in a dramatic increase in multiple pollutants being emitted by each vehicle,” according to a federal court document.
Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious respiratory illnesses, especially in children and the elderly, and can worsen existing heart and lung disease.
The Owens imported illegal defeat devices to a warehouse in Manson and then sold them to customers across the country, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Washington.
When the Environmental Protection Agency requested information from the Owens about their business in 2020, they shut it down and then relaunched it under a new business name, DPF Delete Shop with a new website for sales, according to court documents. The address was shown as the Cayman Islands.
When a customer threatened to report Joshua Owens and DPF Delete shop to the EPA in 2023, the indictment said that Joshua Owens responded in an email, “We have all your info. You’ll be the guy we serve up on a silver platter to the EPA if it comes down to that.”
Maximum sentences for charges in the indictment range from up to five years in federal prison on each conspiracy charge and up to 20 years in prison for each smuggling and money laundering charge.
“Attempting to profit from evading pollution control systems puts the health and safety of everyone in our community at risk, especially children and individuals who suffer from asthma and respiratory illnesses,” said Eastern Washington District U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “Strong and fair enforcement of environmental and public health laws ensures a safer community for all families to live, learn, play, and work.”
The case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Jacob E. Brooks and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Russell are prosecuting the case.