A Volkswagen AG executive connected with the automaker’s massive diesel emissions scandal pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
As part of a plea deal, Oliver Schmidt faces up to seven years in prison and a fine between $40,000 and $400,000, Reuters reports. Schmidt admitted he conspired to mislead U.S. regulators and violate clean air laws and could have faced a maximum of 169 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
The scandal rocked VW when it was uncovered two years ago and has cost the German automaker $25 billion—a small portion of which is going to Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality.
Louisiana officials expect to get around $18 million of a $4.3 billion settlement from VW. That money must be used to pay for emissions-reducing projects. For instance, East Baton Rouge Parish is set to get new, alternative-fuel school buses with the money.
The state Department of Transportation and Development plans to spend $6 million of the settlement money replacing its fleet with alternative fuel vehicles.
