VW News: SEC Sues VW and EX-CEO Winterkorn for Fraud

[Drew Dowdell]

The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission has filed suit in San Francisco on Thursday alleging that from April 2014 through May 2015, Volkswagen fraudulently issued more than $13 Billion in bonds and securities in the U.S. market.  During that time, the SEC alleges that Winterkorn and other senior management knew about the problem with over 500,000 diesel vehicles that exceeded legal emissions limits. 

The suit says:

Quote

[VW] "reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in benefit by issuing the securities at more attractive rates for the company," the SEC said, adding VW "repeatedly lied to and misled U.S. investors, consumers, and regulators as part of an illegal scheme to sell its purportedly 'clean diesel' cars and billions of dollars of corporate bonds and other securities in the United States."

Winterkorn resigned within days of the scandal braking in 2015. 

Volkswagen said in a statement that the lawsuit is "legally and facturally flawed" and "the company will contest it vigorously".

Volkswagen has already agreed to pay more than $25 billion in a settlement over the dieselgate scandal to buy back defective vehicles, paying fines, and setting up funds to help build out electric vehicle infrastructure. Winterkorn has already been charged in the US.

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[G. David Felt]

Makes one wonder how many of the auto's are still on all those unguarded lots across America and how much of the money actually went back to VW versus into executives pockets? VW has a long road still ahead of themselves with this nightmare.