SAN DIEGO — A 47-year-old California man and his daughter admitted in federal court last week that they had smuggled cylinders of R-22, a once-common refrigerant being phased out because of the damage it causes the Earth’s ozone layer, into the U.S. from Mexico.
Ricky Jesus Rodriguez, 47, and daughter Jasmine Rodriguez, 24, each pleaded guilty Oct. 16 to one count of conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
Ricky Rodriguez said in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California that he had been paid thousands of dollars to coordinate the smuggling of R-22. The smuggling began in the summer of 2023, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, and Rodriguez had been recruited and paid by at least two HVAC companies. He admitted transporting the refrigerant dozens of times, bringing five to 10 tanks with each border crossing. He admitted recruiting others, including his daughter, to join the smuggling ring.
The case is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criminal investigations division, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.
R-22 was the dominant refrigerant in residential air-conditioning and heat-pump systems for decades, but its production and importing has been banned in the U.S. since 2020, after a phasedown that began years earlier. However, an estimated 13 million U.S. homes still have equipment that relies on R-22.
When released into the atmosphere, R-22 depletes the Earth’s protective ozone layer, reducing the atmosphere’s ability to block harmful ultraviolet radiation, which puts people at greater risk for skin cancer and eyesight damage.
Ricky Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced Monday, Jan. 11, by U.S. District Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks, while Jasmine Rodriguez entered into a plea agreement that allows judgment to be deferred if she meets the conditions of her release and stays out of trouble for 12 months, after which the case would be dismissed.
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