Volkswagen engineer to appeal U.S. prison sentence

FILE PHOTO - An American flag flies next to a Volkswagen car dealership in San Diego, California, U.S. September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

(Reuters) - Former Volkswagen AG engineer James Liang plans to appeal a 40-month prison sentence for his role in Volkswagen's multiyear scheme to sell diesel cars that generated more pollution than U.S. clean air rules allowed, according to a court filing on Thursday. A federal judge sentenced Liang in August. U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox also ordered the former engineer to pay a $200,000 fine. In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Michigan, his lawyer on Thursday said Liang's sentence would be appealed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)