Business ProfileforVolkswagen Group of America, Inc

USA v. Liang, et al
The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the government’s allegations, which have not yet been proven.

On March 14, 2018, the United States Attorney General filed an Indictment in U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Michigan as to James Robert Liang, Richard Dorenkamp, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Jens Hadler, Bernd Gottweis, Oliver Schmidt, Jrgen Peter, Voklswgen AG, and Martin Winterkorn. Superseding indictments filed allege the business, its management board, and various executives are in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Specifically, it is alleged they conspired to defraud the United States and their U.S. consumers by installing "defeat devices" in their diesel vehicles.  Emissions control systems in these vehicles were designed to distinguish whether the vehicle was engaged in real road driving conditions or a U.S. emissions test; in which, the emissions increased during the real road conditions.  The indictment for Winterkorn, the former CEO and chairman of the management board of VW, claims he made false representations regarding the ability of VW's supposed "clean diesel" vehicles to comply with U.S. emissions requirements and further committed wire fraud in connection with the scheme. Schmidt and Liang, former VW engineers pleaded guilty to participating in the alleged conspiracy in the indictment and are currently serving sentences of 84 months and 40 months in prison, respectively.