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Date: 05-01-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 3:22-cr-00284
Judge: Frank D. Whitney
Court: United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Mecklenburg County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Charlotte
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Charlotte, North Carolina criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with violating the Clean Air Act.
Jamal Saymeh, age 59, of Charlotte, North Carolina is the owner and operator of Friendly Auto Repair (FAR) shop, located in Charlotte. In addition to auto repairs, in 2017, FAR became licensed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to perform emissions inspections. According to filed documents and court proceedings, between 2017 and 2022, Saymeh used his business to execute a scheme to violate the Clean Air Act by falsely changing the information of vehicles that would have otherwise failed the required State emissions testing, so that they were no longer required by the State’s registration system to have a passing emissions test.
In some instances Saymeh executed the scheme by doing “county swaps,” meaning by falsifying in the system the county of registration for 11,568 vehicles from a county that required an emissions test to a county where no emissions testing was required. In other instances, Saymeh changed in the system the characterization of 3,622 trucks, from light duty trucks that require emissions inspections to heavy duty trucks that do not require such testing. During the relevant time period, court documents show that Saymeh falsified the information for at least 15,190 vehicles that would have otherwise failed their State emissions inspections.
In exchange for falsifying vehicle information, Saymeh received cash payments from customers that far exceeded what customers would have paid to have an emissions inspection. In addition, Saymeh paid the State of North Carolina only $0.85 per non-emissions/safety inspection, instead of the $6.25 per vehicle charge he should have paid for an inspection.
“Vehicle emissions testing is required to protect the health and safety of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney King. “As part of my Office’s Environmental Justice Initiative, we will hold polluters accountable for their actions and protect communities harmed by environmental violations.”
“Today, Jamal Saymeh faced the consequences of knowingly and intentionally making false material statements affecting an EPA program,” said Special Agent in Charge Sparks. “Fraudulent activities like these harm our fellow Americans and diminish the public’s trust in EPA programs and operations. The EPA Office of Inspector General will continue to diligently protect both.”
“Mr. Saymeh was sentenced for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and for fraudulent vehicle emissions testing,” said Special Agent in Charge Carfagno. “The defendant’s criminal activity intentionally increased air pollution in communities where these vehicles operate further exacerbating respiratory illnesses and environmental degradation. Today’s sentence serves as a reminder that EPA and our partners are steadfast in our commitment to protect human health and the environment.”
On December 14, 2022, Saymeh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the Clean Air Act, and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. Saymeh will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the EPA-OIG, EPA-CID, and NC DOT for their coordination and investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Michael Sparks, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General (EPA-OIG), Charles Carfagno, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), and Colonel Michael Oates of the North Carolina Department of Transportation License and Theft Bureau (NCDOT) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
18:371 - CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES AND TO VIOLATE THE CLEAN AIR ACT, which provides:
(2) Any person who knowingly—
(A) makes any false material statement, representation, or certification in, or omits material information from, or knowingly alters, conceals, or fails to file or maintain any notice, application, record, report, plan, or other document required pursuant to this chapter to be either filed or maintained (whether with respect to the requirements imposed by the Administrator or by a State);
(B) fails to notify or report as required under this chapter; or
(C) falsifies, tampers with, renders inaccurate, or fails to install any monitoring device or method required to be maintained or followed under this chapter 2
shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine pursuant to title 18 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both. If a conviction of any person under this paragraph is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this paragraph, the maximum punishment shall be doubled with respect to both the fine and imprisonment.
42:7413(c)(2)(A) - VIOLATION OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT provides:
(2) Any person who knowingly—
(A) makes any false material statement, representation, or certification in, or omits material information from, or knowingly alters, conceals, or fails to file or maintain any notice, application, record, report, plan, or other document required pursuant to this chapter to be either filed or maintained (whether with respect to the requirements imposed by the Administrator or by a State);
(B) fails to notify or report as required under this chapter; or
(C) falsifies, tampers with, renders inaccurate, or fails to install any monitoring device or method required to be maintained or followed under this chapter 2
shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine pursuant to title 18 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both. If a conviction of any person under this paragraph is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this paragraph, the maximum punishment shall be doubled with respect to both the fine and imprisonment.
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 12 months and one day, a felony. He was also ordered to pay $1,202,288.50 in fines and $82,026 in restitution of the State of North Carolina.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: