Courtroom gavel. (Courtesy of The Associated Press)
Portland, Oregon (coin) — The co-owners of two southwest Washington motor vehicle companies have been convicted of illegally removing pollution control devices from diesel trucks.
On Thursday, Tracy Coitu, 44, of La Center, was found guilty of conspiracy and 11 counts of violating the Clean Air Act, which prohibits individuals from tampering with a vehicle’s emissions control system.
of United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington Coitu, co-owner of Racing Performance Maintenance Northwest and its affiliate RPM Motors and Sales, was first reported charged in May 2021.
Her 50-year-old husband Sean Coitus and 44-year-old service manager Nick Akeril were also charged.
Officials said that between January 2018 and November 2020, automakers charged customers $2,000 to remove pollution-monitoring systems from their vehicles. Workers also tampered with software that determines whether a vehicle’s pollution was in compliance with the law.
“Emails and other electronic records show the conspirators purchased equipment and software kits to remove pollution control devices and reprogram monitoring systems,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“When investigators executed a court-authorized search warrant in January 2021, they found some of the removed emissions components and a replacement tailpipe. They discovered records detailing approximately 375 instances of the removal of emissions control hardware and software,” USAO added.
Investigators found that Koitu and the other perpetrators tampered with the devices to make more than $500,000 over a three-year period.
The defendants face up to five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge, up to two years in prison for each CAA violation, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 19, after her husband’s sentencing is handed down on Aug. 13.
Akeril, a service manager, was sentenced to 30 days in a Clark County work unit after pleading guilty to state pollution charges.
