The owner of three Washington trucking companies pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to violate Clean Air Act emissions controls and to fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief money.
Pavel Ivanovich Turlak pleaded guilty Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. From August 2017 through November 2023, Turlak removed the required air pollution control equipment and tampered with federally mandated monitoring devices on diesel trucks. He admitted to fraudulently applying for federal funding and receiving more than $300,000.
“Mr. Turlak pursued a business of profiting from pollution. By installing emission defeat devices in his own vehicles and the vehicles of others, he sought an illegal competitive advantage and evaded important safeguards designed to protect public health and the environment,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref said in an announcement. “Families in Eastern Washington deserve to breathe cleaner air, and I am grateful for our partners on our Environmental Task Force who are committed to protecting our community.”
Turlak owns PT Express, Spokane Truck Service and Pauls Trans. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, PT Express employs 15 drivers and has 12 power units, and Pauls Trans has five drivers and five power units.
Spokane Truck Service specializes in diesel truck repair. It was there that Turlak used equipment to disable emissions control systems and tamper with pollution monitoring devices on his trucks, as well as customer vehicles, in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Ryan Hugh Milliken, owner of Hardaway Solutions, was also charged in the scheme. He was accused of creating and selling “delete tune” files to Turlak. The files were designed to disable emissions monitoring systems. Milliken entered into a consent agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency and agreed to pay a $45,000 civil penalty.
Turlak charged customers approximately $3,500 per truck to remove pollution control equipment. He also arranged to take classes taught by Milliken on the tuning software, court records say.
Turlak is scheduled for sentencing on April 2.