The defendants, Stephen Craig Dickinson, 27, of Charlotte, Alexander Christian Edwards, 24, of Monroe, Jin Sung Chang, 24, of Concord, Thanh Long Quoc Nguyen, 32, of Charlotte, and Chuck Yee Cheung, 37, of Charlotte, were charged by separate criminal bills of information and have each plead guilty to one count of violating the Clean Air Act.
Chang was also charged with, and pled guilty to, making three materially false statements in the course of the investigation. According to court documents and related proceedings, at the time of their criminal conduct three of the defendants, Dickinson, Edwards and Chang, were employed by a car dealership in Charlotte. In or about 2010, these defendants purchased a device used to bypass the ordinary onboard diagnostics system used in state emissions inspections. The defendants used the device to provide false passing results for vehicles that had their “check engine” light on, indicating they were discharging emissions at a higher rate than permitted by law, an illegal activity known as “clean scanning.”
In exchange for the false passing results, the defendants charged more than the standard fee for the emissions inspections. The other two defendants, Nguyen and Cheung were employed at a used car lot also in Charlotte, and communicated via text messages with one of the dealership employees asking him to “clean scan” vehicles for them.
In addition, when investigators interviewed Chang on three separate occasions he provided false material statements. Dickinson entered his guilty plea on April 15, 2011, Edwards on April 27, 2011, Cheung on June 7, 2011, Nguyen on July 6, 2011, and Chang on July 14, 2011.
All of the defendants remain free on bond and their sentencing dates have not been set yet. The defendants face a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
“Vehicle inspections are required, in part, to ensure that our air quality is protected. Schemes such as the one perpetrated by the defendants put public health at risk,” stated U.S. Attorney Tompkins. “This office is committed to prosecuting those who violate the federal laws designed to protect the health of our citizens.”
