A business owner from Florida has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an illegal operation involving diesel trucks.

What's happening: Ryan Hugh Milliken and his company, Hardaway Solutions, admitted in court to selling software that bypasses emissions controls. This software, known as "delete tune," was marketed to trucking companies in Spokane, Washington.

• From 2017 to 2023, they provided tailored "delete tune" files to many trucking businesses, allowing those trucks to defeat emissions regulations.
• The system that monitors emissions would typically reduce truck speed significantly if it detected any faults, but the illegal software disabled this safety feature.

The concern: The Clean Air Act mandates that diesel trucks limit harmful emissions. The illegal software prevented trucks from complying with these requirements, posing risks to public health, reported the U.S. Department of Justice.

What’s next: Milliken is set to be sentenced on January 22, 2024, in Spokane.

For now, the focus remains on addressing these violations and their impacts on both trucking operations and environmental safety.