General Motors Co (GM.N) agreed to pay $900 million and admit to misleading the government andthe public about the safety of its vehicles toend a U.S. criminal investigation into its handling ofdefective ignition switches linked to 124 deaths.

The settlement and charges, which were detailed in papers filed on Thursday in Manhattan federalcourt, have transformed the relationshipbetween the automaker and the U.S. government, whichhad bailed out GM during the financial crisis.

GM admitted to failing to disclose to its U.S. regulator and the public a potentially lethal safetydefect with the switches that kept airbags fromdeploying in some vehicles.

The largest U.S. automaker also admitted to misleading consumers about the safety of vehiclesaffected by the defect.

GM was criminally charged with scheming to conceal a deadly safety defect from its U.S. regulator,as well as wire fraud.