Stellantis subsidiary found guilty in U.S. diesel pollution investigation and fined $300 million

Monday, after pleading guilty to criminal conspiracy in June, the U.S. branch of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was forced to pay almost $300 million to resolve a multi-year diesel emissions fraud probe by the Justice Department.

FCA US LLC, previously Chrysler Group LLC, signed an agreement with the Justice Department to forfeit $203.6 million and pay a $96.1 million punishment. Additionally, the FCA US division of Stellantis NV was sentenced to three years of organizational probation.

More than 100,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 diesel vehicles produced in the United States between 2014 and 2016 were reportedly marketed with falsified emissions data.

The Department of Justice alleges that FCA conspired to cheat on U.S. emissions tests.

The $300 million criminal fine "is the outcome of a three-year investigation," as stated by Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim. This resolution underscores the Justice Department's commitment to holding businesses accountable for misleading authorities.

The government emphasized that FCA US had previously paid a $311 million civil penalty and over $183 million in compensation to over 63,000 diesel class action claimants.

The automaker must conduct an initial evaluation of its compliance with the Clean Air Act and inspection and testing procedures, submit a report, and produce at least two more reports. Reuters was the first to report the planned settlement in May.

According to the Justice Department, FCA US utilized deceptive software features to avoid regulatory scrutiny and falsely help diesel vehicles in complying with pollution laws.

Stellantis previously asserted that it had amassed 266 million euros in compensation funds. FCA merged with Peugeot (OTC:PUGOY) maker PSA in 2021 to become Stellantis.

Three FCA US employees are now awaiting trial on allegations of conspiring to defraud the United States and violating the Clean Air Act.

Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG p) pleaded guilty to criminal charges to settle its own pollution problem affecting around 600,000 U.S. automobiles in the "Dieselgate" controversy five years previously. Volkswagen has paid more than $30 billion in connection with this matter.