Volkswagen Pleads Guilty In Emissions Cheating; Judge Delays Sentencing

(Updated) DETROIT, MI — Volkswagen AG was in federal court in Detroit Friday, where the German automaker pleaded guilty to three felony charges related to a long-running emissions cheating scandal. In January, the German automaker agreed to plead guilty to the charges — fraud, obstruction of justice and misrepresenting goods imported into the United States — and admitted that over a six-year period it had rigged software in its diesel engines sold in the U.S. market to beat emissions tests

U.S. District Judge Sean Cox, who accepted the plea, delayed sentencing of the world’s largest automaker and scheduled another hearing for April 21.

Cox said he wants to take his time with the matter because the proposed $4.3 billion settlement agreement falls well below federal sentencing guidelines for fines anywhere from $17 billion to $34 billion.

“With all due respect … this is a very, very serious offense,” Cox said, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. “It is incumbent on me to make a considered decision.”

Volkswagen apologized for its conduct in a statement:

“Volkswagen deeply regrets the behavior that gave rise to the diesel crisis," the carmaker said. "The agreements that we have reached with the U.S. government reflect our determination to address misconduct that went against all of the values Volkswagen holds so dear.”

In those agreements, Volkswagen pledged to make sweeping reforms in the way it operates in the United States and other countries and agreed to new audits and three years of oversight by an independent monitor. The Justice Department said in a court filing Monday was “one of the largest corporate fraud schemes in the history of the United States.”

The rigged software was designed to detect when a vehicle was undergoing emissions testing, then shut off the emissions controls when the cars were on the road. VW also has agreed that it will spend up to $25 billion to buy back the dirty cars and address legal claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers.

Seven current and former VW executives have been criminally charged with tricking U.S. consumers into buying dirty cars.

They include Oliver Schmidt, who was in charge of Volkswagen’s environmental and engineering office in Michigan. The Justice Department said Schmidt knew emissions testing software was rigged to meet higher U.S. standards but conspired with others between 2006 and 2016 to mislead federal regulators and customers about the true emissions performance of the affected V6 diesel engines.

Photo by Gábor Kovács via Flickr Commons