Detroit, Michigan - An indictment was unsealed Tuesday in the Eastern District of Michigan charging two Italian nationals, along with a previously charged co-conspirator, for their alleged role in a conspiracy to defraud U.S. regulators and customers by making false and misleading statements about the emissions controls and fuel efficiency of more than 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the United States by FCA US LLC.
According to court documents, Sergio Pasini, 43, of Ferrera, Italy, and Gianluca Sabbioni, 55, of Sala Bolognese, Italy, two senior diesel managers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Italy S.p.A. (FCA Italy), a wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis N.V. — along with a previously charged co-conspirator, Emanuele Palma, 42, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan — were responsible for developing and calibrating the 3.0-liter diesel engine used in certain FCA diesel vehicles. Their responsibilities included calibrating several software features in the vehicles’ emissions control systems to meet emissions standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx), a family of poisonous gases that are formed when diesel fuels are burned at high temperatures, while also achieving best-in-class fuel efficiency targets set by FCA US LLC.
The superseding indictment alleges that Palma, Pasini, Sabbioni, and their co-conspirators, purposely calibrated the emissions control functions to produce lower NOx emissions under conditions when the subject vehicles would be undergoing testing on the federal test procedures or driving “cycles,” and higher NOx emissions under conditions when the subject vehicles would be driven in the real world. Palma, Pasini, Sabbioni, and their co-conspirators allegedly referred to the manner in which they manipulated one method of emissions control as “cycle beating.” As alleged, by calibrating the emissions control functions on the subject vehicles to produce lower NOx emissions while the vehicles were on the driving “cycle,” and higher NOx emissions when the vehicles were off the driving “cycle,” or “off cycle,” the three defendants purposely misled FCA’s regulators by making it appear that the subject vehicles were producing less NOx emissions than they were, i.e., in real world driving conditions. Palma, Pasini, and Sabbioni also allegedly made and caused others to make false and misleading representations to FCA’s regulators about the emissions control functions of the subject vehicles in order to ensure that FCA obtained regulatory approval to sell the subject vehicles in the United States.
The superseding indictment also alleges that Palma, Pasini, and Sabbioni employed “cycle beating” to achieve best-in-class fuel efficiency and make the subject vehicles more attractive to FCA’s potential customers, i.e., by increasing fuel economy and reducing the frequency of a required emissions control system service interval. The superseding indictment alleges that the co-conspirators understood their “cycle beating” calibration would harm consumers who purchased the vehicle, leading them to acknowledge that “there will always be the unlucky customer who will have the misfortune of using our loser cal[ibration].”
Pasini and Sabbioni are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Clean Air Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and six counts of violating the Clean Air Act. If convicted, Pasini and Sabbioni each face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count to defraud the United States and to violate the Clean Air Act, up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count to commit wire fraud, and up to two years in prison for each count of violating the Clean Air Act. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Palma is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Clean Air Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of violating the Clean Air Act, and two counts of making false statements to representatives of the FBI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID). If convicted, Palma faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count to defraud the United States and to violate the Clean Air Act, up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count to commit wire fraud, up to two years in prison for each count of violating the Clean Air Act, and up to five years in prison for each count of making false statements. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin O. Driscoll of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Saima S. Mohsin of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan; Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD); Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lance Ehrig of the EPA-CID’s West-Central Region made the announcement.
Principal Assistant Chief Henry P. Van Dyck and Trial Attorneys Kyle W. Maurer and Jason M. Covert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, ENRD Senior Trial Attorney Todd W. Gleason, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John K. Neal and Timothy J. Wyse for the Eastern District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.
