UPDATE | GM will pay $900 million over ignition-switch scandal

DETROIT — General Motors has agreed to pay $900 million to resolve criminal charges for concealing a defective ignition switch linked to at least 169 deaths, federal prosecutors said today.

The agreement calls for two charges – wire fraud and scheming to conceal information from government regulators – to be dropped after three years if the automaker cooperates fully.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, however, did not rule out the possibility employees could still face charges.

Also, GM announced it will spend $575 million to settle the bulk of the civil lawsuits filed over the scandal.

The twin agreements bring to more than $5.3 billion the amount GM has spent on a problem prosecutors say could have been dealt with at a cost of less than a dollar per car. Those expenses include government fines, compensation for victims and the recall and repair of the millions of affected vehicles.

GM chief executive Mary Barra appeared before employees today in suburban Detroit and again apologized to the victims of crashes caused by the bad switch.

“We didn’t do our job,” she said. “We accept the penalties handed down today, because that’s what it means to be held accountable.”

Last year, GM recalled more than 2.6 million vehicles, including the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt, for faulty ignition switches.