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Hillsboro Repair Shop Owner Gets Prison Time for Stripping Customers’ Catalytic Converters

Travis Turner, 38, of Forest Grove was sentenced to six months in federal prison after the EPA accused his shop of charging customers $2,000 to remove their diesel trucks’ emissions systems.

Mount Hood over traffic south of Portland (Robert Ashworth/Flickr)
By Lucas Manfield

The owner of a Hillsboro diesel repair shop pleaded guilty in federal court today to “tuning” customers’ diesel trucks by eliminating their emission control systems, a violation of the Clean Air Act.

Travis Turner, the owner, was sentenced to six months in federal prison. His shop, Pure Addiction Diesel Performance, will pay the Environmental Protection Agency a $148,733 fine.

“By disabling the emissions control systems of hundreds of diesel vehicles, Pure Addiction and its owner, Travis Turner, favored their own financial interests above the health and safety of our community,” federal prosecutor Ethan Knight said in a press release today. “We will continue working closely with our partners at the EPA to ensure all businesses and business owners play by the rules.”

Related: EPA Accuses Hillsboro Mechanic of Stripping Customers’ Catalytic Converters

In charges filed earlier this month, the EPA accused the shop of raking in $400,000 by “deleting” emissions systems from 200 trucks for $2,000 a pop from 2018 to 2020. When the agency confronted Turner, he attempted to cover it up to doctoring invoices, earning him federal charges as an accessory to the crime.

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