Rudy’s Performance Parts, Inc., and Aaron Rudolf Clean Air Act Settlement Information Sheet

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a civil settlement agreement with Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. (Rudy’s) and its owner, Aaron Rudolf, for violations of the Clean Air Act’s prohibition against the sale, manufacture, or installation of devices that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative emissions controls on motor vehicles. In addition to the civil settlement agreement, EPA and DOJ reached criminal settlement agreements with Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf.

Under the civil settlement agreement, Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf will pay a $7 million civil penalty for the sale or installation of over 250,000 defeat devices between 2014 and 2019. Rudy’s and Rudolf also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in federal court in Washington, DC, for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act. Rudy’s pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a criminal fine of $2.4 million and to complete a three-year period of organizational probation, consistent with a plea agreement. Rudolf had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in April 2024 to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $600,000 criminal fine.

In April 2024, EPA’s enforcement program announced its effort to promote strategic collaboration between the civil and criminal enforcement programs. The agreements reached in this case highlight the importance of these coordination efforts.

On this page:

Overview of Rudy's Performance Parts, Inc.
Overview of Violations
Overview of Environmental Impacts
Overview of Consent Decree
Contact Information

Overview of Rudy's Performance Parts, Inc.

Rudy’s is a North Carolina company located in Burlington, North Carolina that manufactures, markets, sells, and installs aftermarket automotive products for diesel pickup trucks nationwide. Aaron Rudolf is Rudy’s President and CEO. Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf conduct their business by selling to commercial distributors and retailers and selling to individual customers at Rudy’s facility and online through Rudy’s website and e-commerce sites.

Overview of Violations

Between 2014 and 2019, Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf, in violation of the Clean Air Act, manufactured, sold, offered to sell, and/or installed over 250,000 parts for diesel pickup trucks designed to remove emission controls, commonly referred to as “defeat devices.” In addition, they installed aftermarket defeat devices on hundreds of diesel pickup trucks in Rudy’s garages. Original equipment manufacturers (e.g., truck manufacturers) install emission control devices on motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines to comply with Clean Air Act emission standards. Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf’s aftermarket products were designed for use with numerous models of vehicles, including diesel trucks manufactured by Ford, General Motors, and Dodge.

In the complaint, EPA alleges that each act of manufacturing and each sale of a defeat device constitutes a civil violation of Section 203(a)(3)(B) of the CAA and that each installation constitutes a civil violation of Sections 203(a)(3)(A) and 203(a)(3)(B) of the CAA. Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf also failed to provide the EPA with information requested to determine their compliance with the Clean Air Act, such as descriptions of the devices Rudy’s sold or installed, which is a civil violation of Section 203(a)(2) of the CAA.

Overview of Environmental Impacts

EPA estimates that the defeat devices sold by Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf will cause additional emissions equal to adding over 11 million vehicles to America’s roads. EPA testing has shown that a vehicle’s emissions increase drastically (tens or hundreds of times, depending on the pollutant) when its emissions controls are removed. Diesel emissions include nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC), carbon monoxide (CO), hazardous air pollutants, and other pollutants.

NO_xemissions from mobile sources pose significant health and environmental concerns. NO_x contributes to the formation of PM and can cause asthma, difficult or painful breathing, and chronic bronchitis, especially in children and the elderly. It is also a major cause of substantial visibility impairment in many parts of the United States.

NMHC result from incomplete fuel combustion and fuel evaporation and form ground-level ozone, which causes health problems such as difficulty breathing, lung damage, and decreased cardiovascular functioning. A number of NMHC are also considered toxic, meaning they can cause cancer and other health problems.

CO is a poisonous gas that forms when carbon in fuel does not burn completely. It causes the reduction of oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues, and symptoms may include visual impairment, headache, and reduced work capacity.

Overview of Consent Decree

The consent decree specifies actions Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf must take to prevent future Clean Air Act violations. Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf must not manufacture, sell, offer to sell, distribute, or install in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine any aftermarket defeat device. The consent decree also requires the destruction of all aftermarket defeat devices in their possession or control. Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf will pay a civil penalty of $7 million in four payments (plus interest) over three years due to their financial inability to pay a higher penalty.

In addition, the consent decree requires Rudy’s and Aaron Rudolf to:

Cease providing technical support for the aftermarket defeat devices;
Deny all warranty claims for the aftermarket defeat devices;
Instruct authorized dealers to no longer provide technical support or honor warranty claims pertaining to the aftermarket defeat devices;
Not sell or transfer any intellectual property associated with the aftermarket defeat devices;
Revise all marketing materials to strike any information relating to replacing, overwriting, deleting, bypassing, defeating, or rendering inoperative any emission control;
Notify authorized dealers and known customers of the aftermarket defeat devices of the settlement using specified language that explains the Clean Air Act’s defeat device prohibition;
Notify Rudy’s and Rudolf’s officers and employees of the Clean Air Act prohibitions using specified language that explains the Clean Air Act’s defeat device prohibition;
Require Rudy’s and Rudolf’s officers and employees to forfeit all aftermarket defeat devices in their possession or installed on any motor vehicle they own or operate; and
Provide Clean Air Act compliance training for all of Rudy’s and Rudolf’s officers, employees, contractors, and consultants.

Contact Information:

For information contact:
Lauren Tozzi
EPA Office of Civil Enforcement
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code 2242A
Washington, D.C. 20460
[email protected]