US: VW engineer charged in emissions probe

NEW YORK (AA) – A senior Volkswagen engineer is facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud against U.S. regulators and customers, court documents show.

James Liang, who has been with the company since 1985, entered his guilty plea in Detroit federal court and is cooperating with officials on a year-long investigation into the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal.

Volkswagen, parent company for Audi, Porsche and Seat, admitted last September that its diesel-engine vehicles were equipped for years with devices that lowered gas emissions to cheat on inspections.

Liang was involved with the development of the device used in the 2006 Jetta, which roughly corresponds to the beginning of the decade-long conspiracy, according to court documents.

Volkswagen has agreed to settlements totaling nearly $16.5 billion to get 482,000 emissions-cheating cars off U.S. roads, and is also facing investigations in Germany and South Korea.

Last October, the company lost the title of world's biggest car manufacturer to Toyota.

Liang's case puts more pressure on the higher echelons of Volkswagen's leadership to take responsibility.

The Justice Department last September implemented policy that made charging individuals an essential part of fighting corporate fraud, bringing more balance to cases in which a company found guilty could paying billions of dollars in fines while its high-level executives walk free.