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There’s no doubt what Volkswagen did was wrong, but it surely wasn’t so wrong as to put it on par with the activity of the US mafia four decades ago? Or was it?
We didn't see Martin Winterkorn wield a Tommygun, but that might not be enough to clear him and his company of the mafia parallels.
What Volkswagen basically did was to knowingly lie to its customers and the official authorities in order to increase its financial profit. The fact that its actions also contributed to the degradation of the environment doesn’t even matter here, as accusations of racketeering are more than enough.
That’s exactly what’s happening more and more often in the US: complaints against Volkswagen America are using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This is a law dating all the way back to the 1970s when it was used to tackle the US mafia and eventually take it down.
Using this act in their lawsuits against VW would result in significantly larger compensations and attorney fees. That’s because RICO cases are a lot more difficult to prove than an ordinary one, since the stakes are also greater.
But if the judges eventually rule in favor of the RICO plaintiffs, Volkswagen will have to fork out three times as much money in damages attorney fees, something that will severely cripple the financial status of the company, as its planned budget for solving the crisis already seems to be undercut.
Just to get an idea, here are some of the allegations made in a South California case filed against Volkswagen, as quoted by thetruthaboutcars.com:
VW AG directed VW America to engage in fraudulent activities that affected interstate commerce, which included obtaining fraudulent certificates of conformity from the EPA and the design, manufacture, testing, sale and distribution of the Defective Vehicles to consumers all over the United States. VW AG used VW America to manufacture and sell the Defective Vehicles throughout the United States with defeat devices that purposefully circumvented federal and state emissions laws, and VW America operated its largest emissions testing center in California.
In devising and executing the illegal scheme, the (Volkswagen) devised and knowingly carried out a material scheme and/or artifice to defraud (VW owners) or to obtain money from (VW owners) by means of materially false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises, or omissions of material facts. For the purpose of executing the illegal scheme, the (Volkswagen) committed these racketeering acts, which number in the thousands, intentionally and knowingly with the specific intent to advance the illegal scheme.
What Volkswagen basically did was to knowingly lie to its customers and the official authorities in order to increase its financial profit. The fact that its actions also contributed to the degradation of the environment doesn’t even matter here, as accusations of racketeering are more than enough.
That’s exactly what’s happening more and more often in the US: complaints against Volkswagen America are using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This is a law dating all the way back to the 1970s when it was used to tackle the US mafia and eventually take it down.
Using this act in their lawsuits against VW would result in significantly larger compensations and attorney fees. That’s because RICO cases are a lot more difficult to prove than an ordinary one, since the stakes are also greater.
But if the judges eventually rule in favor of the RICO plaintiffs, Volkswagen will have to fork out three times as much money in damages attorney fees, something that will severely cripple the financial status of the company, as its planned budget for solving the crisis already seems to be undercut.
Just to get an idea, here are some of the allegations made in a South California case filed against Volkswagen, as quoted by thetruthaboutcars.com:
VW AG directed VW America to engage in fraudulent activities that affected interstate commerce, which included obtaining fraudulent certificates of conformity from the EPA and the design, manufacture, testing, sale and distribution of the Defective Vehicles to consumers all over the United States. VW AG used VW America to manufacture and sell the Defective Vehicles throughout the United States with defeat devices that purposefully circumvented federal and state emissions laws, and VW America operated its largest emissions testing center in California.
In devising and executing the illegal scheme, the (Volkswagen) devised and knowingly carried out a material scheme and/or artifice to defraud (VW owners) or to obtain money from (VW owners) by means of materially false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises, or omissions of material facts. For the purpose of executing the illegal scheme, the (Volkswagen) committed these racketeering acts, which number in the thousands, intentionally and knowingly with the specific intent to advance the illegal scheme.
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