DETROIT (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments Wednesday against six executives at Volkswagen AG.
The charges are part of the government’s ongoing case against VW for knowingly selling diesel vehicles that didn’t meet U.S. emissions standards.
All of the executives are German. Five of the six are believed to presently live in Germany. One, Oliver Schmidt, was arrested Jan. 7 in Miami during a visit to the U.S.
All six executives are charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by making false statements to regulators and the public about VW’s diesels.
Here are the executives’ names, titles and any additional charges.
Charged with conspiracy:
- Jens Hadler, 50. Head of Volkswagen engine development, 2007-2011.
Charged with wire fraud:
- Bernd Gottweis, 69. Head of quality management and product safety, 2007-2014.
Charged with clean air violations:
- Richard Dorenkamp. 68; Head of VW engines’ after-treatment department, 2003-2013. Led the team of engineers that developed the first diesel engine designed to meet U.S. emissions standards.
Charged with wire fraud and clean air violations:
- Heinz-Jakob Neusser, 56. Head of Volkswagen engine development, 2011-2013; head of VW brand development, 2013-2015.
- Oliver Schmidt, 48. Head of VW’s Engineering and Environmental Office in Michigan, 2012-2015.
- Jurgen Peter, 59. Engineer in the quality management and product safety group, 1990-present.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.