Federal prosecutors are closing in on criminal charges against General Motors Co. over a faulty ignition switch linked to more than 100 deaths, says the Wall Street Journal. They are still weighing whether to charge individual employees. The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office has determined GM likely broke the law by making misstatements about the ignition-switch glitch in older Chevrolet Cobalts and other cars for more than a decade. A fine exceeding $1 billion is likely.
GM will either plead guilty or enter a so-called deferred-prosecution agreement, which would mean that charges would be suspended and ultimately dismissed if the company obeys prosecutors' terms. GM is likely to strongly argue against a guilty plea, making a trial possible.