By Jeffrey A. Newman Esq.
The U.S. Goverment has announced that Hino Motors has agreed to pay over $1.6 Billion to resolve criminal and civil actions for violations related to the company’s submission of false and fraudulent engine emissions. According to the Government’s release, For over a decade, Hino Motors, Ltd. submitted misleading, incorrect, incomplete, or fabricated emissions testing data to the EPA in their applications for certificates of conformity. These violations affect approximately 105,000 model year 2010-2019 heavy-duty highway engines and approximately 5,700 model year 2011-2019 nonroad compression-ignition engines.
As part of the global resolutions, Hino agreed to pay a $525 million civil penalty. Hino will also implement a vehicle recall program for model year 2017-2019 engines and will perform mitigation projects to offset the excess emissions caused by the violations at a total estimated cost of almost $300 million. Hino Motors, Ltd. also agreed to plead guilty to engaging in a multi-year criminal conspiracy. The plea agreement, which is subject to approval by the court, requires the company to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation — during which it will be prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has manufactured into the United States — and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure. Information about the criminal resolution is available on DOJ’s Hino Motors, Inc. case updates webpage. The civil and criminal settlements are subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Between 2010 and 2019, Hino submitted applications to the EPA to obtain certificates of conformity for over 50 engine families. In conducting emissions testing for these applications, Hino regularly altered test data, conducted tests improperly, or entirely fabricated test data without conducting the required tests. Hino then submitted this incorrect, incomplete, or fabricated data to the EPA in their applications. Additionally, Hino failed to disclose software functions that could adversely affect engines’ emission control systems. As a result, Hino’s engines did not conform in all material respects to the designs submitted in their applications, and thus the engines were not covered by the certificates of conformity.
Here is a copy of the case consent decree: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-03/dn-2-consent-decree-final-file-stamped.pdf
Here is a cooy of the Complaint; https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-03/dn-1-hino-complaint-final-file-stamped.pdf
Jeffrey Newman is a whistleblower lawyer whose national firm in Boston represents whistleblowers of violations of export controls, tariff evasions, money laundering, healthcare fraud and other kinds of WB cases. The firm represents individuals both in the United States and other countries. Mr. Newman and his firm staff also represent many physicians across the country who become whistleblowers in healthcare fraud cases. Whistleblower laws in the U.S. allow individuals anywhere with information about export control violations or tariff fraud to reveal the information under The False Claims act or through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program. The Firm’s website is at www.JeffNewmanLaw.com and attorney Newman can be reached at Jeff@Jeffnewmanlaw.com or at 978-880-4758. FOR OTHER ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE IN ADDITION TO WHISTLEBLOWER INFO PLEASE SEE MY BLOGS AT https://jeffnewmanlaw.com/utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Marblehead
