Arizona To Sue Theranos For Fraud

Theranos is about to become a target for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who this month said he plans to sue the much-beleaguered diagnostics company for consumer fraud. In a release, Brnovich said Theranos violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act with its “long-running scheme of deceptive acts and misrepresentations relating to the capabilities and operation of Theranos blood testing equipment, including but not limited to deceptive acts and misrepresentations made to Arizona consumers.” Theranos is based in Palo Alto, Calif., but 40 out of its 41 Wellness Centers were run out of Phoenix-area Walgreens stores. Walgreens has terminated its contract with Theranos and sued the company for $140 million related to problems with its blood testing devices. Arizona’s action would be a civil suit. The Wall Street Journal has reported that federal prosecutors plan to open a criminal investigation, but criminal charges have yet to be filed at the federal or state level.