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A Volkswagen executive has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government just days ahead of a likely settlement between Volkswagen and the Justice Department:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Volkswagen executive who faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, two people with knowledge of the arrest said on Sunday, marking an escalation of the criminal investigation into the automaker's diesel emissions cheating scandal. Oliver Schmidt, who led Volkswagen's regulatory compliance office in the United States from 2014 to March 2015, was arrested on Saturday by investigators in Florida and is expected to be arraigned on Monday in Detroit, said the two people, a law enforcement official and someone familiar with the case.
After a study by West Virginia University first raised questions over Volkswagen's diesel motors in early 2014, Mr. Schmidt played a central role in trying to convince regulators that excess emissions were caused by technical problems rather than by deliberate cheating. Much of the data presented to regulators was fabricated, officials of the California Air Resources Board have said. Mr. Schmidt continued to represent Volkswagen after the company admitted in September that cars were programmed to dupe regulators. He appeared before a committee of the British Parliament in January, telling legislators that Volkswagen's behavior was not illegal in Europe.
Meanwhile, UK VW owners have filed a class action against the company, seeking at least £3,000 or more per owner.
(Score: 1) by dbv on Tuesday January 10 2017, @01:24PM
I guess they'll be arresting GM execs next. No? A bailout then maybe? Maybe they'll get around to Wall Street at some point? This is a slippery slope, I tell you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @03:44PM
Never happen.
GM and Ford are the merkan good 'ol boy club.
American corruption is allowed, even condoned. Others must be prosecuted to the full extent of what ever law they can make up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @10:11PM
Your attitude guarantees that the current system of "too big to jail" is perpetuated.
Instead of bitching that other criminals got away in the past, you should be cheering this on and expressing support for more prosecutions of corporate criminals.
This guy seems like a patsy though. He was arrested for trying to bullshit away the 3rd party test results that lead to the discovery. He's a PR guy, bullshiting is what he does. Its unclear if even knew his company was committing fraud. The people who really need to go to jail are the ones that decided to commit fraud in the first place. I'm not say he gets off scott free, I'm just saying there are much bigger fish to fry in this case.