Georgia vehicle emissions inspector pleads guilty to falsifying test results

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A Gwinnett vehicle emissions inspector pleaded guilty to performing thousands of fraudulent emissions tests.

ATLANTA — A vehicle emissions inspector from Gwinnett County has pleaded guilty to performing thousands of fraudulent emissions tests.

Mehboobhusain Malik, 72, of Lilburn pleaded guilty to one court of violating the federal Clean Air Act.

According to information presented in federal court, Malik attached a simulator to the emissions testing system he was using to falsify test results for vehicles that could not pass the emissions test. He performed thousands of fraudulent emissions tests at multiple testing location across metro Atlanta.

“The Georgia emissions program exists to protect our community’s air quality,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan. “With his guilty plea, Malik admits that he essentially sold his position as a licensed emissions inspector by issuing false emissions certificates for cars that should have failed the test.”

“This case demonstrates how local, state, and federal agencies work together to uphold and enforce laws designed to protect human health and the air that we breathe,” added Sara Lips, spokesperson for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD).

Malik is scheduled to be sentenced in January. The case was investigated by the EPD and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Capitol Beat News Service.