Volkswagen AG executive Oliver Schmidt, who is due to be sentenced this week in connection with the carmaker's emissions scandal, has written to the judge to say he feels "misused" by the German company. Schmidt pleaded guilty in August in the US District Court in Detroit to wrongdoing connected to a massive diesel emissions scandal that has cost Volkswagen as much as $30 billion. He is due to be sentenced on Dec. 6.
"I must say that I feel misused by my own company in the diesel scandal or 'Dieselgate'," Schmidt wrote to US judge Sean Cox, according to a letter filed in federal court. The letter was originally published by Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. A Volkswagen spokesman declined to comment, citing the ongoing proceedings.
Under a plea agreement, Schmidt faces up to seven years in prison and a fine of between $40,000 and $400,000 after admitting to conspiring to mislead US regulators and violating clean air laws. In March, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three felony counts under a plea agreement to resolve US charges it installed secret software in vehicles to evade emissions tests.