Exxon Climate Accounting Fraud Trial Begins Today in NYC
The Attorney General (AG) of New York state sued Exxon Mobil last fall after a four-year investigation into the question of whether the company misled investors on the costs to the company of future regulation of the industry that would be needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and that those misrepresentations caused investors to pay more for the stock than they should have — to the tune of “between $476 million and $1.6 billion.”
Why This Matters: Investor disclosure laws are strict — and the government alleges that the decisions regarding what they did not disclose went all the way up to Exxon’s CEO at the time, Rex Tillerson, who is expected to testify. If NY wins, there will be a slew of additional lawsuits to join the other similar ones pending in New Jersey and Texas. If the company wins, it will insulate the company and the industry from further climate change legal challenges.
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