Volkswagen Executive Pleads Guilty in Diesel Emissions Case
Mr. Schmidt faces maximum penalties of five years in prison
and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge, and two years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the environmental charge.
Mr. Schmidt admitted conspiring with other Volkswagen employees to mislead and defraud the United States in 2015 by failing to disclose
that thousands of diesel cars were rigged to evade detection of excess emissions levels.
Volkswagen has already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
and to violate the Clean Air Act, customs violations and obstruction of justice
DETROIT — A Volkswagen executive pleaded guilty on Friday to federal charges arising
from a continuing investigation into the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal.
Under a revision of the charges, he pleaded guilty to two counts: conspiracy to defraud the federal government and violating the Clean Air Act.
The charges against the executive, Oliver Schmidt, stem from his role in Volkswagen’s decade-long
scheme to rig diesel cars with devices that circumvented federal emissions tests.