The axe is about to fall on former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt as Reuters is reporting he will plead guilty for his involvement in the Dieselgate scandal.
According to the report, the former boss of Volkswagen’s environmental and engineering center in Michigan will enter his plea on August 4th. He was charged with 11 different felonies and was facing up to 169 years in prison but it’s possible the guilty plea could result is some of those charges being reduced or dismissed.
Schmidt was been in custody since January when he was arrested while trying to return to Germany. He is one of eight different executives who have been charged for the wide-ranging emissions scandal.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the latest developments but noted the company “continues to cooperate with investigations by the Department of Justice into the conduct of individuals.”
Schmidt will become one of the first executives to face the music but he will soon be followed by James Liang who has a sentencing date scheduled for August 25th. Liang has already entered a guilty plea for misleading regulators but he has been cooperating with the investigation so his sentence could be reduced.
Photo Gallery
