DETROIT _ An ex-Volkswagen manager who has pleaded guilty in the German automaker's massive diesel emissions cheating scheme could get up to seven years in prison when he is sentenced later this year, according to his plea agreement.
That agreement with the government also calls for a fine of between $40,000 and $400,000.
On Friday in federal court, U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox told the ex-manager, Oliver Schmidt, he will decide Schmidt's prison sentence and the amount of the fine at an early December sentencing in Detroit.
Schmidt, 48, wearing a red jail jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists and ankles, said simply, "Guilty, your honor," in German-accented English as he entered his pleas to each of two felonies _ conspiracy and violation of the Clean Air Act.
A more serious third charge, wire fraud, had been dropped as part of the agreement. Schmidt is to be deported after serving his sentence.
Schmidt, a German national, has been incarcerated since his arrest in Miami in January, and there was no discussion of possible release during Friday's hearing.
He will undergo a pre-sentencing investigation "to guide the judge in sentencing," according to a federal court spokesman.
Schmidt, who worked at Volkswagen's research and development center in Auburn Hills, Mich., outside Detroit, has been portrayed as a central figure in the VW scandal uncovered by researchers in 2015, which led to civil settlements worth about $17 billion for U.S. consumers and dealers who own the automaker's diesel vehicles and an additional $4.3 billion to settle criminal charges.
Schmidt's role at Volkswagen was to be the automaker's liaison with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. For several years, Schmidt shepherded Volkswagen's vehicles through a diesel emission certification process and said the company's vehicles met regulatory standards.
In his plea, Schmidt admitted he knew in the summer of 2015 that devices had been installed on VW diesel vehicles to cheat emissions tests and said that he was told by Volkswagen management not to disclose that information with a regulator during a meeting he was told to set up.
Schmidt is not the only VW official to face charges. He was one of six employees indicted in January, and James Robert Liang, an engineer, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
