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.
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A day after the Justice Department reached a settlement with Volkswagen, another automaker has been accused of using software to cheat U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions testing:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a notice of violation to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and FCA US LLC (collectively FCA) for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act for installing and failing to disclose engine management software in light-duty model year 2014, 2015 and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with 3.0 liter diesel engines sold in the United States. The undisclosed software results in increased emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the vehicles. The allegations cover roughly 104,000 vehicles. EPA is working in coordination with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which has also issued a notice of violation to FCA. EPA and CARB have both initiated investigations based on FCA's alleged actions.
"Failing to disclose software that affects emissions in a vehicle's engine is a serious violation of the law, which can result in harmful pollution in the air we breathe," said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "We continue to investigate the nature and impact of these devices. All automakers must play by the same rules, and we will continue to hold companies accountable that gain an unfair and illegal competitive advantage."
"Once again, a major automaker made the business decision to skirt the rules and got caught," said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. "CARB and U.S. EPA made a commitment to enhanced testing as the Volkswagen case developed, and this is a result of that collaboration."
Also at Reuters and Ars Technica.
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(Score: 3, Funny) by jasassin on Tuesday January 10 2017, @06:12AM
I never liked those stupid looking VW beatles. I also didn't like that stupid kids game when they'd see a VW beatle, yell "Slug Bug!" and then punch me in the arm.
Fuck you Volkswagon.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @06:36AM
As an owner of a TDI, I have to say there is something satisfying about this. Of course, I am still getting close to 50mpg, which is also sweet.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Tuesday January 10 2017, @05:58PM
Since I don't resell my cars until they're worth their weight in steel, if I lived in a state without emission standards, I'd be picking up one of these puppies.
Sure, they do pollute a bit more than advertised, but probably less than a quarter of my neighbors' pickups...
And that torque, man ... that sweet sweet HDi torque. *Drool*
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 11 2017, @04:21AM
50mpg, while spewing out cancer from the exhaust pipe. I don't like being behind a TDI and smelling the diesel stinky fumes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @04:19PM
Fartfignewton.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @06:36AM
Honestly, who gives a fuck?
WV has been around for a very long time.
They've been building better vehicles than any american auto manufacturer for generations.
I drive a new ford truck everyday. It's the biggest piece of shit on the road I've driven since that '08 GMC Sierra abortion I had. No body ever thought of suing ford or gmc over ripping consumers off. Why the double standard now? Do as we say, not as we do.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @06:54AM
Are you kidding? The FBI arrested a suit. Historically, big_corporation's low-ranking scapegoat would be the only one punished while the suits all walked away, fat, rich and unaccountable. This has the potential to be the start of something big.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday January 10 2017, @07:17AM
From what I have seen, the typical Corporate response is to hang this on some engineer that was told to do this or they would find someone else who will.
Firing that engineer documents the Corporate Executive Team has taken the matter seriously.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @10:21PM
From what I have seen, the typical Corporate response is to hang this on some engineer
They already tried that. [nytimes.com] It wasn't enough.
This guy's prosecution is a very positive step towards corporate accountability.
It isn't enough. Not by a long shot. But every journey begins with a single step.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @07:42AM
If he was an American executive (billionaire?) there is a 0% chance he would have been arrested.
He probably would have been asked to be part of Trump's cabinet right?
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @12:40PM
Nope, Trump has no interest in dealing with losers, and he would be the first one to give the guy a public dressing down. He is not afraid of shaming people for their actions regardless of how smug they are or how many zeros they have attached to their name. That's one quality of his that has endeared him to me ever so slightly over the last year and a half. The other quality I like about him is that he is not Hillary. Where I was afraid of living in Hillary's America before, I no longer fear the future.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @05:18PM
Yup. Between choosing Trump's lies and Hillary's lies, I'd choose Trump. He is a doof, whereas she could fuck your ass with a big BIG stick.
Her connections got her in above Sanders, who should have been running.
(Score: 2) by http on Tuesday January 10 2017, @08:06AM
This guy looks to be middle management, not a suit. Expendable, unless he's got dirt on upper management, in which case quickly expendable.
I browse at -1 when I have mod points. It's unsettling.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @10:23PM
> unless he's got dirt on upper management,
The arrest may be strategic. He can plea-bargain a reduced sentence in exchange for dishing that dirt.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday January 10 2017, @02:44PM
I would assume this has to do with said suit not paying the proper "union of rich dudes" dues (aka lining the pockets of government officials) and had no protection.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @10:54PM
They arrested a foreigner and will probably use him as a hostage to obtain a more favorable settlement.
This schmuck may not have been important enough for VW to keep him far away from the US until the situation has blown over, but any career minded person would think twice before taking a transfer to the US.
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Tuesday January 10 2017, @07:09AM
Like Bill Clinton, this executive did not get in trouble for the actual scandal: only lying about it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @01:47PM
And his legal defense may hinge on whether he was passing along information that he was fed from the parent company, in which case he's gullible, but maybe not all that guilty? Or, if he actually knew that the software was written to defeat emissions testing, then he really was lying to regulators.
If I was in that job, I hope that I would have the sense to keep very careful records of all the information I was requesting from the parent company and the answers that came back. And when things heated up I would stash this information with my independent lawyer...
Any lawyers around to comment on this situation?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday January 10 2017, @05:13PM
Obviously Comey gives a feck. He must be a VW owner.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Entropy on Tuesday January 10 2017, @06:15PM
They never ripped off consumers. They gave consumers engines with too high mpg, too high reliability, and too low maintenance costs. In some circumstances the engine produced too much emissions in some categories and it's questionable that really mattered.(Diesel produce less emissions in some areas than gas, and restrictions on some emissions categories are absurd.)
So they helped consumers, quite a lot.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @10:16PM
> it's questionable that really mattered.
Just "asking questions," right?
Well MIT asked those questions [mit.edu] and they found that the pollution from these vehicles will kill at least 60 people. And depending on how crappy a job VW does of getting these vehicles off the road, up to 180.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @09:35PM
You're the AC that's been trolling the green site with "Who Cares" threads, aren't you? People started ignoring you there already?
(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.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by drussell on Tuesday January 10 2017, @04:13PM
I find very interesting the little bit of "gusto" with which they are going after those who gamed the environemental regulation system.
Contrast this to the outright fraudsters who systematically manipulated entire financial markets with their bogus "products" to the point of causing a global crisis. Those people are seemingly allowed to continue with business as usual and collect their giant bonuses for screwing over millions and millions of people, basically saying "HA HA! Suckers!!"
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday January 11 2017, @12:15AM
Conspiracies do not exist.
Especially for this!!! You know how many people VW employs? THOUSANDS!
How can all of them be silent? A scientific study using the finest mathematical model ruled that impossible.
It is obvious a guy left an easter egg in the code, likely to impress his SO with the car he has designed.
- "Look, dear, look at the fuel efficiency!"
- "Interesting, Georg, but can you show me the house instead? this garage is cold."
- "Great idea dear, I have a miniature mechanical ants colony in my bedroom, let me show you!"
- "Wunderbar... (sigh)"
When will you tinfoil packaged meatbags ever learn.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 11 2017, @09:47PM
Five More Execs Charged [nytimes.com]
They are in germany. But its a good sign. No more bribing their way out of criminal prosecution.
We'll see what happens after 1/20 though.