US judge delays sentencing of VW employee aiding investigation

A federal judge on Tuesday delayed the sentencing a German man who is the only person to face US criminal charges over Volkswagen’s diesel emission cheating scandal, as he cooperates with prosecutors still investigating the matter.

In September, James R Liang, who has worked for Volkswagen since 1983 and was part of a team of engineers who developed a diesel engine, pleaded guilty after being charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud and violating US clean air laws.

Liang was scheduled to be sentenced on February 1, but US District Judge Sean Cox in Detroit issued an order delaying the sentencing until May 3 “to allow more time for defendant’s cooperation in the investigation.”

Liang is “cooperating with the government in the investigation and the potential prosecution of others,” the court filing said.

Liang, a German citizen who lives in Newbury Park, California, was charged with conspiring with current and former VW employees to mislead the US government about software that federal regulators called a “defeat device,” which allowed the automaker to sell diesel vehicles for more than six years that emitted more smog-forming gases than US emission standards allow.

A lawyer for Liang did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The Justice Department and Volkswagen declined to comment.

Liang was one of the engineers in Wolfsburg, Germany, directly involved in developing the defeat device for the Volkswagen Jetta in 2006, according to the indictment.