The company in question, Sinister Diesel, will now pay at least $1 million in combined criminal fines and civil penalties in the plea agreement announced Tuesday.
For example, a “delete tune,” a type of defeat device software made by other companies and sold by Sinister Diesel, alters the onboard computer of a truck or car to make it appear as if the vehicle is operating as legally intended. Despite some advertisements saying the devices were strictly for off-road use, the Justice Department said that Sinister Diesel knew that most of its customers were going to use the devices illegally on their trucks while driving on public roads.
Another advertisement cited by the Justice Department exhorted the practice of “rolling coal,” in which a driver uses a modified diesel engine to emit large black and grey sooty clouds of exhaust from fuel that has not yet been combusted. These fumes are more of a pollutant than typical exhaust.