That’s how you might bring up a murderer – but usually not someone involved in a scam. But the defendant Oliver Schmidt, former head of VW’s environmental bureau in the US and a prisoner in the Milan, Michigan jail since January 2017, is being led into courtroom 236 in Detroit’s US federal courthouse in dark red prison garb.
Not only that: Schmidt has to wear chains. Chains around his feet, forcing him to trip step. Chains wrapped around his waist. His hands are in handcuffs, which are not removed during the entire process. A lawyer has to put a cup to his mouth if Schmidt wants to drink.
Seven years in prison and a $400,000 fine
This chilling scene alone would have indicated what the verdict would be: as harsh as possible. Judge Sean Cox sentenced the accused to 84 months in prison – seven years in prison and a $400,000 fine. Both together the highest sentence that was still possible in this process after Schmidt had made a late confession.
At the same time, Schmidt’s defense attorney DuMouchel from New York had asserted that Schmidt had only entered the scene in the final phase of this Dieselgate scandal. As a firefighter, so to speak, to avert the worst from the VW Group in the USA. Under no circumstances was he one of the masterminds of this organized fraud, which manipulated the exhaust gas values of 500,000 vehicles from the Wolfsburg car manufacturer down with sophisticated deception software. Defense attorney DuMouchel says Schmidt was only following directives from the VW board of directors when he fooled first US environmental agencies and then US investigators.
Judge Cox didn’t believe him, later says Larry Vellequette, who followed the entire diesel scandal for the well-known automotive trade journal Automotive News: Cox was convinced that Schmidt was actively involved in the allegations against VW to create the world.
Prosecutor: Schmidt covered up, tricked, cheated
So does the prosecution: Schmidt played a key role in the conspiracy to defraud the American economy and US consumers. He covered up, tricked, cheated – and acted in consultation and with the cover of the executive floor in Wolfsburg. Finally, Schmidt also ensured that documents were destroyed.
Schmidt was an intermediary between the VW board and the US authorities, says the prosecutor, repeatedly mentioning the name of Martin Winterkorn, the former CEO of the VW group:
“The prosecution has repeatedly mentioned Winterkorn’s name because they believe he was involved in this conspiracy — even though he is not charged.”
Judge Cox will return to this later. Cox finally justifies his harsh judgment that Schmidt did everything up to his late confession to hinder the criminal investigation of this affair. He also acted for career reasons.
Judge justifies harsh verdict with breach of trust
However, Cox justifies the seriousness of the offense by saying that it was aimed quite fundamentally at the very foundations of the economic system – at the relationship of trust between manufacturer and consumer. Therefore, the verdict must be uncompromisingly harsh – so that the entire economy is warned for the future.
And then Sean Cox actually comes back to the backers in Wolfsburg: While Oliver Schmidt has to pay for his crimes, they get away scot-free, continue to collect their bonuses and – unlike the little man and consumer – have no financial disadvantages fear.
With this process, the VW group got through the Dieselgate scandal in the USA. But not Oliver Schmidt. Unless Martin Winterkorn and colleagues from the VW boardroom who were involved came up with the idea of vacationing in the USA, as Oliver Schmidt did back then.