Toyota Motor Corp. will pay $1.2 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government, who filed a criminal charge claiming the company defrauded customers by issuing false statements about safety issues in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the deal on Wednesday, according to CBS News. The deal states that the automaker will admit that it misled consumers and made deceiving statements about two safety issues in the cars. The penalty will be paid under a "deferred prosecution agreement."
"Put simply, Toyota's conduct was shameful," Holders said at a press conference Wednesday.
Toyota said in a statement on Wednesday that it has "cooperated with the U.S. Attorney's office in this matter for more than four years," Fox News reported. The company added that it had "made fundamental changes to become a more responsive and customer-focused organization, and we are committed to continued improvements."
A family of four was killed in San Diego in August of 2009, and the accident involved a Lexus with a malfunctioning accelerator and brakes that didn't work. The vehicle was reported to have floor mats that were installed incorrectly, which trapped the accelerator at full throttle, CBS News reported.
Toyota started issuing massive recalls in that same year, mostly in the U.S., and totaled over 10 million vehicles for different problems, such as malfunctioning brakes, gas pedals and floor mats. From 2010 through 2012, the company paid fines adding up to over $66 million for delays in reporting unplanned acceleration problems, Fox News reported.
FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos expressed his disappointment with Toyota, saying that the company cared more about money than their customers' safety, according to CBS News.
"Today's announcement could have been prevented if Toyota had done the right thing, told the truth, and fully disclosed the rampant safety problems," Venizelos said. "Instead, they denied and doubled-down. More than speeding cars or a major fine, the ultimate tragedy has been the unwitting consumers who died behind the wheel of Toyota vehicles."
The agreement between Toyota and the Justice Department is taking place while General Motors Co. is under a similar investigation over its handling of ignition switch malfunctions connected to a dozen deaths, Reuters reported. Officials said Toyota's penalty is the biggest penalty imposed from the U.S. on an auto manufacturer.
"My hope and expectation is that this resolution will serve as a model for how to approach future cases involving similarly situated companies," Holder said at the conference.
