$2.8 billion criminal penalty for Volkswagen over emissions scandal

A federal judge added a $2.8 billion criminal penalty to the list of payouts Volkswagen will have to make as a result of its despicable emissions test cheating.

The ruling now brings to around $30 billion the costs VW will incur after being caught rigging two of its diesel engines to pass U.S. emissions tests — a figure that includes the price of buying back almost 500,000 vehicles sold in the country. Meanwhile, seven current and former Volkswagen employees have been charged with crimes connected to the scandal, while an investigation continues in Germany. [...]

"Who has been hurt by this corporate greed? From what I can see it's not the managers at VW, the ones who get paid huge salaries and large bonuses. As always it's the little guy," added the judge, referring to both Volkswagen customers and its blue-collar workers.

The judge declined to order compensation for alleged victims of the diesel scandal, though VW will pay out billions to those who purchased its rigged models — along with a smaller fund set aside by German supplier Bosch, which participated in the scam.

Five of the seven Volkswagen employees who’ve been charged with crimes are in Germany and probably won’t be extradited. That said:

… prosecutors in several German states are continuing their own criminal investigations and have raided offices of both VW and its sibling Audi brand in search of evidence in recent months. Among those considered targets is former Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn, who may have assisted in a cover-up once senior management learned of the diesel engine rigging.

You can be a critic of mass incarceration and still think people definitely need to go to prison over this.