In May 2021, Tracy Coiteux, co-owner of Racing Performance Maintenance Northwest in Ridgefield and RPM Motors and Sales NW in Woodland, was convicted of conspiracy and 11 felony counts of violating the federal Clean Air Act. This conviction came after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Tacoma where a jury found her guilty of tampering with diesel trucks’ emissions monitoring systems between January 2018 and November 2020.
The businesses tampered with approximately 375 diesel trucks over three years and earned $538,477 for these modifications. Tracy Coiteux’s sentencing is scheduled for August 19th, and each violation of the federal Clean Air Act carries a punishment of up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Conspiracy is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Tracy Coiteux’s husband, Sean Coiteux, and service manager, Nick Akerill, were also charged with conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and 11 specific violations of the Clean Air Act in May 2021. Sean Coiteux pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act in March and is set to be sentenced on August 13th. Akerill previously pleaded guilty to state pollution charges and received a sentence of working 30 days on a Clark County work crew.
