The U.S. Justice Department is weighing charging General Motors Co. with criminal wire fraud stemming from the auto maker’s failure to recall millions of vehicles equipped with a defective ignition switch, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Federal prosecutors in New York are focusing on the charge after determining GM likely made misleading statements and concealed information about the faulty switch, now linked to more than 100 deaths. They are hoping to reach a settlement with the company by the end of summer or early fall, though the timing could slip. Prosecutors also could explore other kinds of possible criminal wrongdoing in the GM case. In the GM probe, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is building on an unprecedented settlement with Toyota Motor Corp. in March of last year. Prosecutors charged Toyota with wire fraud under a unique legal theory that effectively punished the Japanese company not for producing defective products, but for allegedly defrauding customers by making misleading statements about its cars’ safety after complaints of unintended acceleration.
