Constable Mark Herman's Emissions Task Force Unit recently conducted an investigation at Humble Tire and Service located at 814 First Street for allegedly conducting fraudulent vehicle inspections using a procedure called "clean scanning."

Clean Scanning is a scheme in which employees at a testing facility manually enter the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for a vehicle that would not pass the emissions test into the computerized system. They then connect a different vehicle up to the testers that could pass. All the while collecting an extra cash fee from the customer.

According to reports from PCT 4, Constable Investigators discovered that Sunita and Suresh Moteelal conducted numerous unlawful inspections over a one year period, illegally netting thousands of dollars in profit.

Sunita and Suresh Moteelal were arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail, charged with two counts of Tampering with a Governmental Record. Bonds for both defendants was set at $1,000.00 for each count out of the 174th and 228th District Courts.

"This type of criminal activity contributes to health threatening pollution. In addition, it affords the opportunity for unsafe vehicles to be driven on a public roadway due to not meeting the minimum safety standards. Illicit money gained from these types of activities is often used to fund other criminal activities." - Constable Mark Herman