( CNN ) -- The Justice Department charged Toyota with wire fraud on Wednesday as part of a settlement with prosecutors that will require the auto giant to pay $ 1.2 billion for admittedly misleading consumers and the government over unintended acceleration . According to an agreement signed by the Japanese company , Toyota executives responded to initial complaints about sticking gas pedals and unwanted acceleration by deceiving the public and trying to find ways to limit damage to its global brand . Toyota at one point boasted internally about saving $ 100 million in costs by avoiding a full safety recall . That strategy continued even after a 2009 incident in which a family of four in San Diego was killed when their Lexus suddenly accelerated to speeds of 100 miles-per-hour and crashed , Justice Department officials said . Toyota wound up recalling millions of popular vehicles in 2009-10 . Attorney General Eric Holder said Toyota `` confronted a public safety emergency as if it were a simple public relations problem . '' The financial penalty is the largest for a car manufacturer and Justice Department officials said it represented an aggressive new strategy to deal with how companies handle safety recalls . Under the agreement , the Justice Department will defer the criminal charge for three years , during which Toyota will submit to government monitoring . The settlement ends a four-year probe by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney 's Office , which is now looking at safety issues at General Motors . GM has recalled 1.6 million vehicles worldwide over an ignition switch problem . GM engineers apparently knew about it years ago but the Detroit automaker did not move to recall vehicles until last month . George Venizelos , FBI assistant director in charge of the bureau 's New York office , blasted Toyota . `` The disregard Toyota had for the safety of the public is outrageous . Not only did Toyota fail to recall cars with problem parts , they continued to manufacture new cars with the same parts they knew were deadly , '' he said . According to the agreement , Toyota admitted to deceiving U.S. safety regulators and members of Congress who conducted a separate inquiry . Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the company 's deception even raised concerns among employees . Bharara noted that one employee , in January 2010 , said in response to the company 's misleading public statements : `` Idiots ! Someone will go to jail if lies are repeatedly told . I ca n't support this . '' Christopher Reynolds , chief legal officer for Toyota Motor North America said the company has made changes to be more responsive to customers . `` In the more than four years since these recalls , we have gone back to basics at Toyota to put our customers first , '' he said . The company has settled similar allegations over unintended acceleration in agreements with a group of states , and has also settled with some vehicle owners . The Transportation Department previously leveled stiff fines against Toyota for not promptly addressing safety problems related to unintended acceleration . The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) also came under scrutiny during the Toyota saga for not pushing the company harder in the early stages of their investigation into motorist complaints . The recall crisis cost Toyota an estimated $ 2 billion in repair costs and lost sales , even before it had to pay out any legal settlements .
Japanese auto giant also charged with wire fraud , but prosecution deferred . Toyota admitted to misleading consumers and regulators over unintended acceleration . It initiated massive recalls in 2009-10 following stepped up pressure from regulators . Comment: