Automobile Manufacturer Enters Plea Agreement for Conspiracy, Fraud and CAA Violations

An automobile manufacturer entered into a plea agreement with the DOJ, admitting to conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud and Clean Air Act violations.

Before the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, the company admitted to conspiring to defraud and defrauding U.S. regulators and customers by making false and misleading representations about the design, calibration and function of the emissions control systems on more than 100,000 vehicles as well as "these vehicles' emission of pollutants, fuel efficiency, and compliance with U.S. emissions standards." To conceal the fraud from U.S. regulators and customers, the company (i) submitted false and misleading applications to U.S. regulators to receive authorization to sell the vehicles, (ii) made false and misleading representations to U.S. regulators both in person and in response to written requests for information and (iii) made false and misleading representations to consumers about the vehicles in advertisements.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, the company agreed to (i) continue to cooperate with the DOJ in any ongoing or future criminal investigations relating to these violations, (ii) continue to implement a compliance and ethics program designed to prevent and detect fraudulent conduct throughout its operations, (iii) report to the Department regarding remediation, implementation and testing of its compliance program and internal controls and (iv) pay a criminal fine of $96,145,784 and a forfeiture of $203,572,892.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2022.

In related DOJ criminal proceedings, three former employees of the company were indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States and for violating the Clean Air Act. They are currently awaiting trial.