Friendly Collision Center

VW Engineer Goes to Prison for Diesel Scandal

Volkswagen played some sketchy games with its reporting on emissions and now top managers are headed to the clink. Just recently, a former Volkswagen engineer who cooperated with U.S. authorities in investigating the automaker's diesel emissions-cheating endeavors was sentenced to almost four years in a federal prison and also received fine of $200,000. James Liang, described as a VW diesel engine expert, became the very first person sentenced by a U.S. court in connection with the scandal, with more to follow. VW executive Oliver Schmidt also pleaded guilty to the same charges and will reportedly be sentenced before the end of the year.

At Friendly Collision Center, we rely on information from the carmakers, so this is a serious case and something we've been carefully following here in Dallas, TX for the past two years.

Liang's role in the scam as an engineer working in Volkswagen's Oxnard, California office as the main individual in charge of diesel competence had the job of calibrating the carmaker's diesel engine software to identify specific emissions tests' drive cycles. These devices operate by detecting when a car was being tested for emissions and turns on all emissions-control systems that will otherwise remain off when the car indicates that it was driven previously.

This charade worked perfectly for more than eight years in the U.S., with Liang and other Volkswagen employees falsely reporting to the EPA and California Air Resources Board that the vehicles' compliance with the Clean Air Act, while the automaker itself was marketing the vehicles as "Clean Diesel." A series of independent tests by a university research group eventually discovered some significant discrepancies between the vehicles' actual emissions during on-road tests, with VW publicly admitting to creating some emissions-cheating software back in September 2015.

Liang was eventually sentenced on the charge of conspiracy in the diesel case and his lawyers initially requested a sentence of 21 months, to be served in the form of house arrest. The prosecutors in this case asked for three years of prison time, and the U.S. District Court elected to send a serious message to other engineers and executives in the industry that may be asked to do something illegal by their employers in the future.

"The actions of James Robert Liang and others whom he conspired with to fraudulently represent that Volkswagen AG was in full compliance with regulatory emissions standards drastically impacted thousands of victim consumers," an FBI spokesperson said. "This sentencing is a major deal, as it demonstrates thaty there is and will be personal culpability for any corporate executives who intentionally cheat American consumers, break federal laws or intentionally utilize technologies that can further endanger our environment."

Sources: USA Today, Wall Street Journal and TIME