Chrysler parent Stellantis appears set to pay at least $204 million related to the criminal portion of its alleged diesel emissions cheating case, one with echoes of Volkswagen’s notorious Dieselgate, which cost that automaker billions of dollars to settle.
The company, which formed last year from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot maker PSA Group, is set for a plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Friday, according to a federal court filing Thursday. The criminal charge is against FCA US LLC, the name of the company’s U.S. operating arm.
Several company managers had previously been named in the case. In paperwork filed Thursday, the company was added as a defendant. The item was filed as an information, suggesting a guilty plea is planned.
The filing, reported earlier by the Detroit News, accuses the company of conspiracy to defraud the United States to violate the Clean Air Act and to commit wire fraud. The almost $204 million figure referenced earlier is listed as a forfeiture money judgment.
Stellantis spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment on the case Thursday, saying “we have nothing to share at this time.” Spokespeople for Stellantis did not respond last week when asked about a Reuters report suggesting a plea was coming and that the company would pay $300 million in penalties.
The court filings describe a conspiracy to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests on approximately 100,000 2014-16 EcoDiesel Ram 1500 pickups and Jeep Grand Cherokees in the United States. Those efforts, prosecutors have said, allowed the company’s affected trucks and SUVs to emit more pollutants than they were supposed to when owners were driving them on the roads.
More:Report: Stellantis manager charged in diesel emissions case arrested in Italy
More:Fiat Chrysler to pay $9.5M in SEC probe related to diesel emissions cheating scandal
More:Prosecutor: Corruption case involving FCA might be unmatched in U.S. history
The settlement in the criminal case represents just one part of the total cost to the automaker, which also owns the Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands.
In 2020, the company agreed to pay a $9.5 million civil penalty to settle a case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused it of misleading investors about the emissions scandal. That’s on top of a civil settlement involving the Justice Department and consumers that cost the company almost $800 million. The company, which has denied intentionally cheating, had previously acknowledged being in talks with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division about its investigation.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.