(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. will pay $900 million tosettle a criminal probe by the U.S. Justice Department over theignition switch flaw that has bogged down Chief Executive OfficerMary Barra in recalls and investigations since almost the start ofher tenure.

The settlement is part of a deferred-prosecution agreement underwhich the U.S. will monitor the automaker and the company mustcooperate with the government, federal prosecutors in New York saidThursday. No individuals were charged, while the company wasaccused of conspiracy and wire fraud. Those charges will remainpending for the next three years until the case is dismissed.

“GM admits that it failed to disclose to its U.S. regulator andthe public a potentially lethal safety defect that caused airbagnon-deployment,” according to an agreement that dates the scheme toApril 2006. “Nothing was done at this time to remedy the carsequipped with the defective switch that were already on theroad.”

Prosecutors have scheduled a press conference for noon New Yorktime. Detroit-based GM declined to immediately comment on thecharges. The company announced that it will resolve some civilcases arising from the recall and would record a third- quartercharge of $575 million related to those settlements. GM still facesother civil suits.

Barra, 53, became GM’s first female CEO in January 2014. A fewweeks later, the switch recalls began and soon became her biggestconcern. She was mocked on Saturday Night Live, and GM stock haslost 22 percent of its value since she took the top job. Meanwhile,Ford Motor Co.’s stock declined half as much and the Standard &Poor’s 500 Index rose 8.5 percent.

Car recalls

The criminal settlement may end almost two years of questionsabout what GM’s executives knew and whether they would be heldpersonally responsible. Lawyers for vehicle owners and injuredmotorists have speculated whether Barra and others were kept in thedark by mid-level managers or whether they knew of the defect wellin advance.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, recalled 2.59 million small carsto replace a faulty ignition switch, which has been linked to atleast 124 deaths. The switch could be jarred into the “accessory”position, shutting off the engine, disabling power steering andbrakes and preventing air bags from deploying. GM engineers andlawyers knew about the defect for years before the recall,according to a 2014 study commissioned by the company. Fifteen GMemployees were dismissed after the report.

Barra said as recently as June that GM was cooperating with theJustice Department investigation of its handling of the switchdefect. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and the FederalBureau of Investigation in New York were among those probing theautomaker.

Toyota investigation

Bharara previously 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 U.S. criminal penalty for a carcompany.

Under that deferred prosecution agreement, approved by a federaljudge last year, the government agreed not to prosecute Toyota forthree years as long as it continued to cooperate withauthorities.

Under the GM agreement, the company will be subject to anoutside monitor and could still face prosecution if it’s determinedthe automaker violated the deal.

GM still faces claims by drivers and passengers hurt in crashesand the families of those killed. The automaker has also been suedby car owners over the decreased value of vehicles because of therecalls. And some people have seen convictions overturned asaccidents and deaths blamed on the driver have been exposed asbeing the result of the faulty switch.

On Thursday, GM and the lead lawyer for accident victims saidthe company had reached a memorandum of understanding with 1,385plaintiffs who “may be eligible to participate in a settlement.”Both the company and victims sent a letter to U.S. District JudgeJesse Furman in Manhattan proposing the accord, attorney BobHilliard said in an e-mailed statement. He added that 370 injurycases and 84 wrongful death claims remain.

Compensation fund

Barra announced a compensation fund in June 2014 after GM cameunder fire from lawmakers for taking more than a decade to recallcars with defective switches.

Worth as much as $625 million, the fund administered by attorneyKen Feinberg gave victims and their families a route to seekcompensation largely unavailable to them in the courts.

Under bankruptcy law, GM shed most liability related to thedefect before it sought court protection in 2009. Claimants havesought to revisit that rule and have been generally unsuccessful.Some lawsuits blaming the switch defect for accidents are scheduledfor trial in Manhattan federal court in January.

Some of the lawsuits blaming the switch defect for accidents arescheduled for trial in Manhattan federal court in January.

Since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, GM has announced $17.8billion in spending on its U.S. factories, creating 6,250 jobs, itsaid in August.

GM’s second-quarter profit surged, with its adjusting earningsof $1.29 a share beating the average estimate of $1.06 and morethan doubling from a year earlier.

GM rose 26 cents to $31.46 at 10:05 a..m. in New Yorktrading.

--With assistance from Tom Schoenberg in Washington.

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