TL;DR
Between 2019 and 2021, Moser’s Repair & Performance, LLC allegedly sold and installed 35 illegal “defeat devices” designed to bypass the Clean Air Act’s emission controls.
These components (including EGR and DPF delete kits) allow vehicles to spew raw, unfiltered pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter into the air we all breathe. While these modifications are marketed by the evil corporation as “performance upgrades,” they’re actually a calculated decision to prioritize private profit over the collective right to breathe clean air.
Read on to discover how this “minor” mechanical bypass feeds into a much larger crisis of corporate greed and public health.
Table of Contents
- The Banality of Toxic Profit
- A Timeline of Atmospheric Assault
- Neoliberal Capitalism and the Erosion of Corporate Ethics
- Breathing the Economic Fallout
- Corporate Accountability in a World of Wealth Disparity
The Banality of Toxic Profit
In the sterile humdrum language of federal regulators, it’s called “tampering.”
In the world of corporate ethics, it’s something much more primal: the choice to poison the common well for a few thousand dollars in revenue. Moser’s Repair & Performance, LLC, operating out of Hagerstown, Maryland, specialized in “deleting” the very technologies that keep our cities from becoming gas chambers.
The hardware in question (Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) deletes and Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) pipes) literally serves zero purpose other than to disable the pollution controls mandated by the Clean Air Act. This right here is a direct assault on corporate social responsibility.
By selling these devices, Moser’s Repair & Performance effectively privatized the benefits of increased vehicle performance while socializing the catastrophic environmental costs.
A Timeline of Atmospheric Assault
The corporate misconduct at Moser’s was essentially a sustained business model over several years. According to the EPA’s findings, they engaged in a systematic effort to bypass federal environmental protections.
| Date Range | Alleged Misconduct & Violation Details |
| October 2019 | Moser’s begins the documented sale and installation of various “delete kits” and “defeat devices” for diesel and gasoline engines. |
| 2019 – 2021 | The company successfully sells or installs 35 specific devices, including EGR delete kits, DPF delete pipes, and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) delete kits. |
| January 2021 | The period of documented violations concludes, having released significant excess pollutants into the Maryland atmosphere. |
| April 23, 2024 | The EPA officially files the Consent Agreement, detailing the 35 violations and the resulting $6,000 civil penalty. |
Neoliberal Capitalism and the Erosion of Corporate Ethics
The pursuit of growth is justified by any mean under the regime of neoliberal capitalism. For a small business like Moser’s, the pressure to compete leads to a cynical logic: if the customer wants more horsepower, and the only thing standing in the way is the lungs of the neighborhood children, the horsepower wins. This is corporate greed in its most localized, suffocating form.
The industry for “defeat devices” thrives because it offers a shortcut around the collective rules we have agreed upon for survival. When companies treat environmental regulations as mere “costs of doing business”… or worse, as obstacles to be dismantled for profit! They contribute to a widening wealth disparity where the affluent can afford to live away from high-traffic, high-pollution zones, while the working class bears the brunt of the corporate pollution.
Breathing the Economic Fallout
The economic fallout of these 35 violations can be found in the emergency rooms of Hagerstown. Diesel exhaust contains nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which are known to cause:
- Asthma and Bronchitis: Aggravated respiratory conditions in children and the elderly.
- Cardiovascular Disease: Increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
- Premature Death: Long-term exposure to these “deleted” emissions is a silent killer.
By bypassing the Clean Air Act, Moser’s contributed to a cumulative public health crisis that costs the American taxpayer billions in healthcare expenses.
This is the ultimate “freedom” of the market: the freedom to profit from the slow-motion destruction of the human respiratory system.
Corporate Accountability in a World of Wealth Disparity
In the end, Moser’s was assessed a penalty of $6,000. This be a figure adjusted down based on their “ability to pay”. Or in other words, the evil corporation was so ass at making money even when violating regulations that they were let off the hook easy.
This highlights a recurring theme in the struggle for corporate accountability: the punishment rarely fits the crime when the crime is atmospheric. While the company continues its operations, the excess nitrogen oxides it helped release will remain a part of our environmental legacy.
We are told that the market regulates itself through “ethics.” The case of Moser’s Repair & Performance as well as every single article I’ve ever published on this website suggests otherwise. It reminds us that without a militant commitment to the public good, the drive for profit will always find a way to bypass the filters meant to keep us alive.
You can read the consent agreement on this case by visiting this following EPA link: https://yosemite.epa.gov/OA/RHC/EPAAdmin.nsf/Filings/E8E75C7FB00DDB1585258B080057F19C/$File/Mosers%20Repair%20Performance%20LLC_CAA%20Title%202%20CAFO_April%2023%202024.pdf
💡 Explore Corporate Misconduct by Category
Corporations harm people every day — from wage theft to pollution. Learn more by exploring key areas of injustice.
- 💀 Product Safety Violations — When companies risk lives for profit.
- 🌿 Environmental Violations — Pollution, ecological collapse, and unchecked greed.
- 💼 Labor Exploitation — Wage theft, worker abuse, and unsafe conditions.
- 🛡️ Data Breaches & Privacy Abuses — Misuse and mishandling of personal information.
- 💵 Financial Fraud & Corruption — Lies, scams, and executive impunity.
