VW’s defeat device escalates from scandal to criminal charges

Volkswagen engineer James Liang has pleaded guilty for his role in the Volkswagen defeat device deception. Marking the first criminal charge in the debacle, which first came to light one year ago this month, Liang's plea agreement could be the first of several.

The US Justice Department has confirmed that Liang, a resident of California but a German citizen, has admitted to one count of conspiracy to defraud the US, to commit wire fraud and to violate the Clean Air Act.  He was indicted back on 1 June this year by a federal grand jury but it was only made public now.