Categories
Blog

Volkswagen Sued by Justice Department

Seal of the United States Department of Justice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seal of the United States Department of Justice
Seal of the United States Department of Justice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Volkswagen was sued by the Justice Department on Monday. Illegal software was found in almost 600,000 cars. This may mean the company will face billions in fines.

 

The complaint was filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency in U.S. District Court. It accuses the company of illegally installing software which would make its “clean diesel” engine pass emission standards. This software then turned off, thereby polluting the air.

 

Failure to certify cars, affects the public and competitors. The public faces the prospect of being penalized for having illegally installed emissions controls. Competitors have properly installed emissions control systems. Profits and sales are affected from unfair competition.

 

All measures will be taken to redress the violations by the U.S. Government.

 

Volkswagen is currently in the midst of a recall.

 

The company faces more than $18 billion in fines for violating the Clean Air Act.

 

Criminal charges are possible.

 

Many lawsuits are pending.

 

Investigations are ongoing.

 

Volkswagen executives attempted to blame some software developers in Germany for the faulty software. This is being investigated.

 

The illegal software has been installed in car models since 2009. In total 11 million cars were affected.

 

The accusation is that Volkswagen deliberately deceived its customers and emissions control authorities.

 

The cars lacked a “certificate of conformity” which is routinely issued by the EPA.

 

The cars polluted the air, produced nitrogen oxide, and particulate emissions.

 

From 16-94 deaths occurred due to the added pollution.

 

The EPA is attempting to reach an agreement on acceptable recall measures.

 

The case was filed in Michigan but is expected to move to Northern California.

 

 

 

Categories
Blog

Tax Exempt Charity Accused of Defrauding Donors

The District Attorney said a North Hollywood car donation charity is accused of deceiving donors regarding their legitimacy as a charity. They are facing a $3 million lawsuit. The suit was a consumer protection lawsuit about the amount of money actually allocated for charity.

An injunction is sought in addition to the damages.

The organization was not available for comment.

It was said that the organization spent the money on administrative costs, advertising, towing and car repairs. This is compared to their claim that 100% of the money was given to charities. It appears that the claims of the organization were false. This is the basis of the lawsuit.

Audits revealed that of $700,000 that the organization claimed it donated, only $185,000 was actually donated.

The organization also claimed that towing services were free and that repairs could be done at a low cost when in actuality charges were made for towing and thereĀ  was no staff available to do repairs.

In addition, the organization gave money for donated cars, making it an unlicensed used car business.

This is a violation of California law.

If you need a car accident lawyer call accidentlawyers-nevada.com at 877-722-9777

Source: LA Watts Weekly

A Mazda MPV minivan being donated to a charita...
A Mazda MPV minivan being donated to a charitable organization. The flatbed of the tow tuck is being brought back to a 90 degree position. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)