In addition to the criminal misconduct charges, prosecutors at the US Justice Department may also try to hit the company with wire fraud, claiming Takata faked test information and intentionally hid information about the dangerous airbags. While the settlement is not finalized yet, the Journal notes that Takata will like be allowed to pay part of the penalty up front and spread the rest out over time. The final cost could range anywhere from the "high hundreds of millions" up to a billion and the Justice Department is eager to wrap up the case in January before the new administration takes over.