WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — James Liang, a Volkswagen (VW) engineer from the US state of California, will spend three years and four months in a prison for developing a software to cheat US vehicle emissions tests, the US Department of Justice said in a press release.
"When Liang and his co-conspirators realized that they could not design a diesel engine that would meet the stricter US emissions standards, they designed and implemented software to recognize whether a vehicle was undergoing standard US emissions testing on a dynamometer, versus being driven on the road under normal driving conditions," the release stated on Friday.
"VW falsely marketed VW diesel vehicles as 'clean diesel' and environmentally friendly, while, at the same time, promoting the vehicles’ increased fuel economy, a result achieved by using the defeat device," the release said.
Liang also admitted that he helped his co-conspirators continue to deceive regulatory agencies and customers when evidence surfaced the vehicles’ on-road emissions were more than 30 times higher than amounts shown in emissions tests, the release noted.
The scandal has already cost Volkswagen more than $20 billion in fines and settlements with consumers, according to published reports. In addition, the company faces numerous lawsuits stemming from the deception.
