Wyoming diesel mechanic receives presidential pardon in emissions case
Rep. Chip Neiman, R- Hulett, — Photo by Michael Smith
TORRINGTON (WNE) — President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned Troy Lake, a 65-year-old Wyoming diesel mechanic who served seven months in federal prison for tampering with emissions control systems on heavy-duty commercial trucks.
Lake and his company, Elite Diesel Service Inc., pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act by disabling computerized on-board diagnostic systems on at least 344 heavy-duty commercial trucks between January 2017 and December 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. District Court Judge Regina Rodriguez sentenced Lake on Dec. 5, 2024, to 12 months and one day in custody and a $2,500 fine. Elite Diesel was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $37,500 fine plus a $12,500 community service payment to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.
Lake was released early to home confinement with an ankle monitor in September.
On-board diagnostic systems are required under the Clean Air Act to monitor emissions control hardware on vehicles to ensure they are functioning properly. Eight co-conspirators in seven states were previously sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.
Lake pleaded guilty in June 2024 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.
Rep. Chip Neiman, R- Hulett, penned a letter co-signed by more than 40 House members urging Trump to pardon Lake. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., sent a letter to Trump on Sept. 30, 2025, requesting the pardon.
In the letter, Neiman mentioned the 2018 raid and claimed Lake “was unjustly prosecuted and convicted under the Clean Air Act by the Biden Administration.”
The pardon grants Lake a full and unconditional pardon and also pardons Elite Diesel Service.
This story was published on Nov. 12, 2025.