Fca Us Llc, Conspiracy to Cheat Emissions Tests, Michigan 2023

DETROIT, Michigan – In a shocking case of corporate malfeasance, FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group LLC, was sentenced to pay a $96,145,784 fine and a $203,572,892 forfeiture money judgment in federal court in Detroit for conspiracy to cheat U.S. emissions tests.

The conviction results from the company’s conspiracy to defraud U.S. regulators and customers by making false and misleading representations about the design, calibration, and function of the emissions control systems on more than 100,000 Model Year 2014, 2015, and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 diesel vehicles, and about these vehicles’ emission of pollutants, fuel efficiency, and compliance with U.S. emissions standards.

This case demonstrates the Criminal Division’s dedication to prosecuting companies that seek to place profits above full candor, good corporate governance, and timely remediation, said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Today’s sentence shows that companies that engage in misleading U.S. regulators, or their own customers, will be held accountable.

FCA US designed a specific marketing campaign to market these vehicles to U.S. customers as ‘clean EcoDiesel’ vehicles with best-in-class fuel efficiency. However, according to court documents, FCA US installed software features in the Subject Vehicles and engaged in other deceptive and fraudulent conduct intended to avoid regulatory scrutiny and to fraudulently help the Subject Vehicles meet the required emissions standards.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said, ‘Today’s sentencing of FCA US, which includes a $300M criminal penalty, is the result of an exhaustive three-year investigation.’ This resolution shows that the federal government is committed to holding corporate wrongdoers accountable for misleading regulators.

The court also imposed a three-year term of organizational probation on FCA US. According to the company’s admissions and court documents, beginning at least as early as 2010, FCA US developed a new 3.0-liter diesel engine for use in FCA US’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 vehicles (the Subject Vehicles) that would be sold in the United States.

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