Exxon Says N.Y. Used Fraud Claims to Score Political Points
By Erik Larson
You’d expect most companies accused of a longstanding fraudulent scheme to be thrilled if the government dropped those claims against them. Not so for Exxon Mobil Corp. — at least not today.
The energy giant unleashed a torrent of criticism against New York Attorney General Letitia James in court filings Monday, more than a week after the state sought to drop two out of four claims on the last day of a civil trial that has yet to be decided by the judge. Exxon says the government couldn’t prove the fraud claims and only made them “to score headlines and political points.”
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New York Supreme Court Justice Barry Ostrager, who oversaw 11 days of testimony that ended Nov. 7, should block the attempt to drop the two claims and instead rule in favor of Exxon for the entire case to finally “set the record straight” after four years of disparaging comments from the state, the company said in the filing.
The attorney general “directly and repeatedly impugned the corporate reputation of Exxon Mobil and the personal reputations of its employees,” whose names were dragged “through the mud,” the company said. The state “cannot now erase these past four years because its fraud theory was completely debunked at trial,” Exxon said.
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