VW exec pleads guilty in emissions cheating case

DETROIT - Volkswagen AG executive Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty on Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit in connection with a massive diesel emissions scandal that has cost the German automaker as much as $25 billion.

Under a plea agreement, Schmidt will face up to seven years in prison and a fine of between $40,000 and $400,000 after admitting to conspiring to mislead U.S. regulators and violating clean air laws.

Schmidt will be sentenced on Dec. 6.

In March, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three felony counts under a plea agreement to resolve U.S. charges that it installed secret software in vehicles in order to elude emissions tests.

U.S. prosecutors have charged eight current and former Volkswagen executives so far.

Earlier this year, Schmidt was charged with 11 felony counts and federal prosecutors said he could have faced a maximum of up to 169 years in prison. As part of his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop most of the counts and Schmidt consented to be deported at the end of his prison sentence.

Schmidt was in charge of the company's environmental and engineering office in Auburn Hills until February 2015, where he oversaw emissions issues.