The U.S. government is determining whether charges will bebrought against General Motors Co. or its employees over thehandling of a faulty ignition switch, a person familiar with theinvestigation said.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office, with assistancefrom the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York, is reviewingevidence tied to the safety defect that was linked to more than 100deaths and is attempting to determine whether anyone at theautomaker broke the law, said the person, who asked not to beidentified because the information isn’t public.

The investigators have several options available, includingcharging the automaker, individuals who work or worked at GM, orreaching a deferred prosecution agreement with the company underwhich the automaker would pay a fine and change the way it operatesin exchange for not being charged, the person said. While theinvestigation has progressed, no decision is imminent, the personsaid.

If the government charges GM or its employees, it could mark adifferent conclusion than the so-called Valukas Report did lastyear, said Erik Gordon, a law professor at the University ofMichigan. GM hired former U.S. prosecutor Anton Valukas toinvestigate why it took a decade to reveal the ignition switchproblems. The report concluded that a lack of urgency amongengineers and in-house lawyers, not a cover-up conspiracy, let tothe long delay.

GM culture

“Criminal charges mean the government doesn’t buy the story thatthe recall fiascoes were caused by a few people whose actions wereunknown to top brass,” Gordon said. “Criminal charges mean thegovernment thinks GM as a whole, as part of its culture, waswilling to violate laws and tolerate violations of the law.”

Pat Morrissey, a spokesman for Detroit-based GM, said only thatthe company continues to cooperate with the investigation.

Peter Donald, a spokesman for the FBI in New York, declined tocomment on the probe.

Bharara’s office led a probe into Toyota Motor Corp.’s attemptto hide safety defects over uncontrolled acceleration, reaching adeal under which the Japanese automaker agreed to pay $1.2 billionto avoid prosecution -- the biggest criminal penalty imposed on acar company in the U.S.

A federal judge approved the deferred prosecution agreementMarch 20, 2014, under which the government agreed not to prosecuteToyota for three years as long as the company continued tocooperate with authorities.

Faulty switch

GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, recalled 2.59 million small carsto replace a faulty ignition switch. The switch could be jarredinto the “accessory” position, disabling power steering andpreventing air bags from deploying.

Mary Barra, who became GM’s chief executive officer last year,just weeks before the small-car recalls began, hired Valukas toinvestigate and lawyer Kenneth Feinberg to administer a fund tocompensate victims of the faulty ignition switch. GM has taken $550million in charges for payouts related to the program, which isprojected to wrap up this summer.

GM engineers and lawyers knew about the switch defect for yearsbefore the recall, Valukas found. Fifteen GM employees weredismissed after the Valukas Report.

The New York Times reported on the possible chargesearlier.

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