General Motors Fined Nearly $1 Billion for Faulty Ignition Switches

Updated at 8:55 p.m.

General Motors will pay hundreds of millions of dollars for faulty ignition switches that led to more than 100 deaths and hundreds of injuries, NBC News is reporting.

The settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office will be announced Thursday at a news conference in New York. Officials close to the case say the fine is expected to be between $900 million and $1 billion, according to The Detroit News.

The expected settlement closes a criminal investigation into the automaker’s delayed recall of the faulty ignition switches on 2.6 million cars. GM is expected to be charged with hiding information about the faulty ignition switches on defrauding customers, the Detroit Free Press said. The deferred prosecution agreement means the automaker won’t have to plead guilty.

The defective switches were installed primarily in Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions in model years 2003-2007.

The Justice Department said GM knew about the defect, which caused the key to inadvertently turn off the engine in some vehicles and disable power steering and air bags, for a decade before beginning the recall.

CEO Mary Barra fired 15 employees and disciplined five others last year because of the cover-up.

Read the petition below.

This is a developing story. Come back to Patch for more details.