Volkswagen Has Second Employee Arrested In Connection To Diesel Emissions Scandal

Volkswagen and their internationally known diesel emissions cheating scandal seems to have claimed another casualty. This should be only the start of many more things to come in the wake of this disaster.

Last year, if you haven’t heard, Volkswagen was caught cheating on their diesel emissions. Since then, the media has learned that dealers will be suing the automaker, Volkswagen will try to make up for this by creating an electric car, and that this will have lasting effects on Audi and Porsche as well. But that’s not all that’s going to be happening to VW.

According to reports a second employee involved in this cheat has now been arrested in conjunction with the diesel emissions cheat. Oliver Schmidt, the general manager of the engineering and environmental office for Volkswagen of America, is now in custody and facing a criminal investigation. Schmidt was essentially the quality control officer in charge of making sure all cars met emissions standards. Apparently, he was Volkewagen’s direct contact with the federal government on emissions matters. You can see why he’s in trouble.

This is the second time an employee of VW has been arrested in regards to the scandal. In October, engineer James Robert Liang was arrested and pleaded guilty to defrauding the government. Liang has agree to cooperate with the authorities in the United States and Germany.

A grand jury indictment against Liang detailed a 10-year conspiracy by Volkswagen employees in the U.S. and Germany to repeatedly dupe U.S. regulators by using sophisticated emissions software. The indictment detailed e-mails between Liang and co-workers that initially admitted to cheating in an almost cavalier manner but then turned desperate after the deception was uncovered.

This is only the tip of the iceberg for Volkswagen. Be prepared for many more lawsuits, arrests, and years full of litigation on the diesel scandal.

(Source: US News)