VW exec jailed seven years for Dieselgate role: report

Another Volkswagen employee gets the clink for ties to the Dieselgate scandal, according to Autocar – former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt has been sentenced to seven years in prison an hit with a US$400,000 (RM1.63 million) fine for his part in this saga. Schmidt was the company’s emissions compliance manager from 2012 until February 2015.

This follows the sentencing of former Volkswagen engineer James Liang, who was slapped with a 40-month sentence and a US$200,000 (RM816,100) fine for his part in the German automakers emissions scandal which had been unfolding over the past two years. Liang was the first person with Dieselgate involvement to be sentenced to US federal prison.

Schmidt was arrested at a Florida airport in January upon returning from holiday, then in August pleaded guilty to two charges related to the emissions scandal – conspiracy to defraud the United States to commit wire fraud and to violate the Clean Air Act, and violating the Clean Air Act itself. A third charge relating to wire fraud was dropped, said the report.

VW exec jailed seven years for Dieselgate role: report

Schmidt learned of the emissions control defeat devices in the summer of 2015, and failed to disclose their existence, he said when entering his guilt plea. Schmidt’s defense attorney appealed for a maximum sentence of 40 months with a US$100,000 (RM163,400) fine; however, the federal judge Sean Cox meted out the highest sentencing within guidelines in the Eastern District of Michigan United States District Court.

As for the automaker itself, Volkswagen AG pleaded guilty in March to three criminal charges related to the scandal, receiving a $2.8 billion (RM11.4 billion) fine and a three-year probation period.

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