Arizona sues Volkswagen for fraud in emissions scandal

PHOENIX — The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has sued Volkswagen for the emissions scandal that has rocked the car maker.

Mark Brnovich’s office filed lawsuit against the German auto Volkswagen and other brands that fall under its umbrella, including Audi and Porsche.

The company last year admitted to cheating emissions standards by installing software in 11 million diesel cars that falsified results.

“This appears to be one of the largest cases of false advertising we have ever seen and Arizona will be at the forefront of a nationwide effort to hold Volkswagen financially accountable,” Brnovich said in a statement.

“By filing this lawsuit, we are ensuring Arizonans who were defrauded are best positioned to receive the restitution they’re entitled to.”

The lawsuit contended that Volkswagen fraudulently “advertised, sold, and leased diesel vehicles to Arizonans as ‘clean’ vehicles that were powerful and exceptionally fuel-efficient.”

In the wake of the scandal, Volkswagen’s CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned and the company said it was putting aside $7.3 billion to cover costs of the recall. Initially, the company said cars in the United States were excluded.

The first cars affected in the United States were four-cylinder diesel Jettas and Audi 3s released between 2009-2015. The list grew as the Environmental Protection Agency began investigating.

Related

Estate planning is essential even if you don’t have a lot of wealth or are early in family lifeAlex Murdaugh’s defense and prosecutors expect to clash over evidence during pretrial hearingTrump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in battleground stateTrump wants the midterms to be all about himself. Judging by the ads, Democrats are happy to obligeTempe becomes 1st Arizona city to enact strict ban on Automated License Plate ReadersPhoenix Art Museum receives $5M gift for Asian art expansion