Feds, GM reach criminal settlement in ignition switches case

The potential settlement was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, as well as NBC News and Reuters.

“I am very hopeful the Department of Justice will hold GM fully accountable and presses for an acknowledgement of responsibility as well as monetary penalties”, Sen. GM has set aside more than $600 million to cover those settlements.

A GM spokesman declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.

The agreement was expected to be announced on Thursday, the sources said.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s attempt to hide safety defects over uncontrolled acceleration, reaching a deal under which the Japanese automaker agreed to pay $1.2 billion to avoid prosecution – the biggest criminal penalty imposed on a auto company in the U.S. The government will charge the automaker with hiding information about the ignition switches from safety regulators and defrauding consumers. Barra blamed a “culture of incompetence and neglect” and pledged never to forget what happened.

GM’s fine is likely to be less than Toyota because the company cooperated with the investigation, according to legal analysts. But, the deal is unlikely to include charges against individual GM employees.

“GM reacted”, he said. Christian said she will be greatly disappointed if GM is fined less than Toyota and if nobody from GM is criminally charged. It entered into a three-year consent agreement with NHTSA. For example, a government report found GM avoided using the word “stall” when discussing the issue to avoid people thinking it was a safety problem.

If the company does not abide by the terms of the agreement, the corporation could face criminal charges.

GM set up a claims resolution facility to compensate numerous victims of the faulty part. Families of those who died will get at least $1 million. It placed no cap on the amount Feinberg could award, but he is not allowed to assess “punitive damages”.

Henning said the settlement with the DOJ came quickly for a case such as this. There are also suits pending by shareholders.

Federal prosecutors based in New York have been investigating GM since at least March 2014.