Stellantis declined to comment. Under a plea agreement, Palma, who is in the process of relocating from Michigan to Italy, is not expected to spend any time in custody. "Senior auto officials at FCA US, including Mr. Palma, conspired to circumvent pollution standards and obtain EPA certifications for hundreds of thousands of SUVs and pickup trucks under false pretenses," Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. FCA US LLC agreed in June 2022 to pay about $300 million in criminal penalties arising from its efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram pickup trucks and Jeep sport-utility vehicles in its U.S. lineup. FCA US previously paid a $311 million civil penalty and over $183 million in compensation to over 63,000 people as part of a class-action diesel lawsuit. (Reporting by David Shepardson and Rami Ayyub; editing by Kanishka Singh and Leslie Adler)