The Justice Department suspected criminal wrongdoing quite a while back, and now it has confirmed it in its probe into General Motors’ failure to disclose a defect tied to at least 104 deaths, the New York Times reports.
Danielle Ivory, Ben Protess and Bill Vlasic of the Times report that the Justice Department is negotiating what is expected to be a record penalty. The paper cited unnamed "people briefed on the inquiry."
The paper reported that a settlement could be reached this summer, and is expected to surpass the $1.2 billion Toyota paid last year for concealing unintended acceleration problems in its vehicles.
The Times writes:
G.M.’s eagerness to resolve the investigation — a strategy that sets it apart from Toyota, which fought prosecutors — is expected to earn it so-called cooperation credit, one of the people said. That credit could translate into a somewhat smaller penalty than if G.M. had declined to cooperate.
The Times also reported that some former G.M. employees are under investigation and could face criminal charges.
