VW Moves Beyond Criminal Case, but Not Without a Scolding -<br />By BILL VLASICAPRIL 21, 2017<br />DETROIT — The criminal case against Volkswagen for its decade-long scheme to cheat on diesel<br />emissions tests ended Friday with a scolding, an apology and $4.3 billion in penalties.<br />In accepting the plea agreement, Judge Cox declined to make Volkswagen pay criminal restitution to consumers in addition to a $2.8 billion fine<br />and a $1.45 billion penalty to resolve environmental and customs-related civil claims brought by regulators.<br />Last month, Volkswagen received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to sell about 67,000 vehicles<br />that had received updated software as part of the overall emissions repair approved by federal and state regulators.<br />The sentence, affirmed at a court hearing, had been recommended by federal prosecutors in January as part of a deal in which the German automaker agreed<br />to plead guilty to three felony charges for illegally importing nearly 600,000 vehicles equipped with devices to circumvent emissions standards.
