Former VW executive to plead guilty in emissions cheating case

A former executive for Volkswagen is expected to plead guilty to charges against him stemming from the company’s emissions cheating scandal.

A federal court said Tuesday that Oliver Schmidt will plead guilty to some of the three charges against him, the Detroit News reports. Schmidt, who is German, is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, violating the Clean Air Act and aiding and abetting wire fraud. 

Schmidt, VW’s former top emissions compliance official, will enter his plea in August.

{mosads}Schmidt is one of several high-level Volkswagen employees to be charged for their alleged role in the company’s emissions cheating scandal, in which the company used software to turn off required emissions controls on some 600,000 of its diesel vehicles. 

James Robert Liang, a former engineer at the company, pleaded guilty to criminal charges connected to the scandal in September. Volkswagen itself pleaded guilty to three felony counts against it.

The company has agreed to pay $4.3 billion in order to to settle civil and criminal fines against it. VW will also pay more than $20 billion to settle claims from drivers, dealers and regulators.