United States v. Hino Motors, Ltd.

On January 15, 2025, prosecutors filed an information charging Hino Motors, Ltd. (HML) in a single conspiracy count with five objects: to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), to defraud the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), to violate the Clean Air Act, to commit wire fraud, and to smuggle goods into the United States, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.

Between 2010 and 2019, HML submitted and caused to be submitted false applications for engine certification approvals. Company engineers regularly altered emission test data, conducted tests improperly, and fabricated data without conducting any underlying tests. HML submitted fraudulent carbon dioxide emissions test data, which resulted in false fuel consumption values being calculated for its engines. Company engineers also failed to disclose software functions that could adversely affect engines’ emission control systems. As a result of the fraud, HML imported and sold more than 105,000 non-conforming engines between 2010 and 2022.

As part of a global resolution, HML has agreed to plead guilty to engaging in a multi-year criminal conspiracy. The plea agreement, which is subject to approval by the court, requires it 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. The company has also agreed to entry of a forfeiture money judgment against it in the amount of $1.087 billion.

The global resolution includes the second largest criminal fine in the history of EPA’s mobile source program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.