May 3 (UPI) -- Former Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn faces conspiracy and and wire fraud charges in the United States for the German company's high-profile emissions scandal, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The four-count indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Winterkorn of conspiring with other senior executives to defraud the United States, U.S. customers and violate the Clean Air Act by lying to regulators and the public about VW's emissions. The remaining three counts of the indictment accuse the former CEO of wire fraud.