A prominent compensation expert hired by General Motors is scheduled to announce a plan today to distribute money to victims of accidents caused by the automaker’s defective ignition switch, the New York Times reported today. But the payouts — which could cost GM billions of dollars — may not fully put the worst safety crisis in the company’s 106-year history behind it. While many victims and their families will be compensated, federal prosecutors and congressional investigators say that GM remains in their cross hairs for possible criminal behavior related to the handling of the defective vehicles. Efforts by GM to move beyond the ignition issue, both through the compensation plan developed by the expert, Kenneth R. Feinberg, and a recently unveiled internal investigation by the former U.S. attorney Anton R. Valukas, have done nothing to slow down or redirect the criminal investigations, according to federal investigators.
