A subsidiary of Toyota has pleaded guilty to criminal charges and will pay $1.6 billion to settle an emissions fraud case brought by EPA.
The company, Hino Motors, also agreed to stop importing engines for five years as part of the deal, which was first announced in January and approved Wednesday by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.
Hino will pay a $521.8 million fine and another $1.08 billion forfeiture. It’s one of the largest financial penalties in EPA history.
“Today’s plea and sentencing demonstrates that companies who intentionally evade our nation’s environmental laws, including by fabricating data to feign compliance with those laws, deserve punishment and will be held criminally accountable,” Jeffrey Hall, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement.
