Martin Winterkorn is accused of conspiracy and wire fraud for his part in the purported long-running, diesel vehicle scam, reads the recently unsealed indictment.
“The indictment of former [Volkswagon] CEO Martin Winterkorn should send a clear message that [the Environmental Protection Agency] and its law enforcement partners will seek to hold corporate officers accountable for alleged criminal activities at their company,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Winterkorn was indicted by a grand jury from the Eastern District of Michigan and faces four federal counts. He is charged with conspiring with other VW employees and officials to defraud customers, the U.S., and for violating the Clean Air Act by falsely claiming the car company’s “clean diesel” emissions complied with regulations. The other three counts for alleged wire fraud related to the matter.
The announcement came from Pruitt, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and other law enforcement officials.
“If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price,” said Sessions in a written statement. “The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company. These are serious allegations, and we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
As a result of the deception, VW already agreed to a corporate compliance monitor, Larry Thompson, during its probation. The independent monitor will evaluate VW for three years, according to information from DOJ.
“I want to thank the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan as well as our partners at the EPA, FBI and in Germany for their hard work on this important case,” said Sessions of the criminal indictment.
Winterkorn’s indictment is the latest development in an ongoing investigation by U.S. authorities into what they are calling “unprecedented” cheating by the car manufacturer. In March of last year, VW pleaded guilty to criminal charges for deceiving regulators including the EPA and the California Air Resources Board for installing “defeat devices” to trick emissions tests.
Winterkorn was the company’s top executive from 2007 to 2015 and is the ninth person charged criminally as a result of the scheme, according to the DOJ. Two engineers, Oliver Schmidt, and James Liang, both German, pleaded guilty and are serving prison sentences handed down from U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Allegedly, Winterkorn first learned of the cheating in May 2014 and instead of taking corrective action, chose to continue to perpetrate the deception.
“Today’s indictment … sends a clear message that businesses both here in the United States and abroad are expected to conduct their business honestly,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge of FBI’s Detroit Division Timothy Slater. “Accountability will be sought for any individuals or corporations that cheat American consumers or harm the environment by circumventing the standards set by our legal system.”