The investigation led by
the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has examined
allegations that the Japanese automotive giant initially misled federal
authorities after the complaints became a source of controversy in 2009.
Under the settlement,
Toyota is expected to avoid criminal charges and is expected to pay
about $1 billion, those familiar with the agreement said.
"Toyota has cooperated
with the U.S. attorney's office in this matter for more than four
years," a Toyota spokeswoman said. "During that time, we have made
fundamental changes to become a more responsive and customer-focused
organization, and we are committed to continued improvements."
The Justice Department didn't comment on the planned announcement.
Toyota recalled millions
of cars in 2009-10, after years of doing little beyond changing floor
mats in response to complaints to federal auto safety regulators about
acceleration problems in popular models.
Regulators were also criticized for their handling of the matter in the years leading up to the massive recalls.
Top company executives
came under fire in two congressional hearings during that time in which
lawmakers accused Toyota of not doing enough to respond to safety
concerns. Stiff safety fines were imposed by the Transportation
Department.
Toyota has settled
similar allegations in agreements with a group of states, and has also
paid settlements to some Toyota car owners.
The Toyota agreement
comes with Bharara's office just starting to look into a safety issue at
General Motors. The FBI, which conducted the Toyota probe, is now
gathering evidence on the GM complaints.
GM has recalled 1.6
million vehicles worldwide over an ignition switch problem. GM engineers
apparently knew about it years ago but the Detroit automaker did not
move to recall vehicles until last month.
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