On Friday, Volkswagen AG executive Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Detroit with association with the diesel emissions scandal that has cost the automaker about $25 billion.
Under a plea agreement, Schmidt will serve seven years in prison and a fine of about $40,000 to $400,000 after admitting to conspiring to misinform USA regulators and breaching clean air laws.
Schmidt will is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6.
This year, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three felony counts under a plea agreement to deal with U.S. charges that it set up secret software in vehicles to evade emissions tests.
Prosecutors have charged eight existing and previous Volkswagen executives up until now.
“Schmidt took part in a deceitful VW scam that prioritized corporate sales at the cost of the honesty of emissions tests and trust of the American buyers,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jean Williams.
“Schmidt, in addition to each and every official involved in this emissions scandal, will be held totally accountable for their actions by the Department of Justice as this investigation continues.”
Previously this year, Schmidt was charged with 11 felony counts and federal prosecutors stated he could have faced a maximum of 169 years in prison. As part of his guilty plea, district attorneys accepted to drop most of the counts and Schmidt consented to be deported at the end of his prison sentence.
Oliver Schmidt worked in the company’s environmental and engineering office in Auburn Hills up until February 2015, where he managed emissions issues.
