VW engineer’s sentencing delayed yet again

Following the VW emissions scandal, there have been multiple criminal and civil investigations. One VW engineer was convicted of defrauding customers and U.S. regulators alike.

James Liang pleaded guilty for conspiring to defraud customers and regulators. The U.S. Justice Department are pleased with their first criminal charge, following on from a year-long investigation upon which they extracted a confession from the VW veteran.

The charge noted that the conspiracy lasted 10 years, and VW employees built the “defeat device” which produced false Nitrous Oxide (NOx) readings when a vehicle was being tested. However, the device would be turned off in ‘real-world driving’ conditions; therefore this allowed the vehicle to pollute up to 40 times more than the regulated limit of NOx.

According to court documents, the Department of Justice said that the “defeat device” was originally developed in 2006.

Will Liang’s charge pave a way for other arrests?

Prosecutors and the U.S. Justice Department are hoping that this criminal charge will pave a way for charging members of the VW executive board for the damage that was caused. This is verified by the fact that Liang told prosecutors that he was “one of many at Volkswagen” involved in the scheme. Though VW has already made a $16.5 billion (£12.7 billion) settlement for some 482,000 diesel vehicles in America, the criminal probe still continues.

Liang’s lawyer, Daniel Nixon, said that Liang is remorseful and is fully aware of his wrongdoings, “[he] is coming here to Detroit to accept responsibility for his actions”. This could also be inferred by the fact that he’s cooperating with U.S. prosecutors and regulators.

This is a message that prosecutors and regulators aren’t just going after companies’ money, whereby a fine can be paid off through a written cheque. There’s a clearer message here: executives should be held responsible for their cheating actions. It’s not good enough for executives to protest their innocence through ignorance. It doesn’t make sense that top executives wouldn’t be aware of the scheming plan. Charging these executives can, and should, send a strong deterrent wave to other companies who are contemplating creating such devices to defraud their customers and regulators.

Liang will essentially be used as a stepping stone to get to the top executive board. Though six other executives, including Oliver Schmidt, have been arrested and investigated, they’ve yet to be convicted of the same crimes as Liang.

Sentencing

Liang faces up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (£193,000) (or double the amount that was improperly gained) – whichever is the higher sum. However, it’s reported that Liang may receive a more lenient sentence as he’s actively cooperating in the criminal inquiry.

In more recent news; due to unforeseen circumstances, Liang’s sentencing has been delayed multiple times; from 11^th January to 24^th April and now to 26^th July. Liang argued for the extension as he has yet to receive a presentence report, which they consider to be necessary in the event that objections are needed. U.S. District Judge Sean Cox granted the extensions, as prohibiting them would go against Liang’s due process rights i.e. fair treatment by the courts under the Fifth Amendment.

Liang and his lawyer also argued that more time was required to interview witnesses and collect documents from around the world that would be relevant for the judge to consider when sentencing Liang.

What the judge should factor in is also the amount of vehicles that were facilitated by the former VW engineer. Liang reportedly helped facilitate the installation of the “defeat device” in around 500,000 vehicles.

Will this affect us here in the U.K.?

There is no evidence to suggest that executives here in the U.K. are exempt from any of the involvement in the scandal. There may have been some prior knowledge of the installation of the “defeat devices” by bosses in the U.K. The charges of executives in the U.S. only provide us with more evidence and ammunition against VW.

Car Emissions Lawyers are currently representing thousands of people claiming against VW, and we want to gain compensation for the millions affected by VW’s deceit. We also want to send a message to other large corporations that this level of deceit is unacceptable and will not go unpunished.

Sources:

https://www.law360.com/whitecollar/articles/918950/vw-engineer-s-sentencing-delayed-again
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN14N1Z2
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-4085852/U-S-judge-delays-sentencing-VW-employee-aiding-emission-probe.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-09/veteran-vw-engineer-is-first-charged-in-u-s-in-emissions-scandal

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