Prosecutors Say Uber Claims About Thorough Background Checks Are Misleading
WESTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Prosecutors with LA County and San Francisco are expanding a lawsuit against the popular ride-share service Uber.
They accuse Uber of being misleading when it comes to claims they do background checks, and thorough ones, on all their drivers.
KCAL9's Erica Nochlin reports US regulators have found that Uber let some folks slip through the cracks -- including one convicted murderer.
For many folks, Uber is becoming rather common.
"At least three times a week," said one rider.
"We just took it! From the airport," said another.
"At least once a week," said another fan.
Even regular riders were surprised to hear what San Francisco DA George Gascon announced on Wednesday.
"We have drivers who are convicted sex offenders, identity thieves, burglars, kidnappers, and a convicted murderer, and this is just in LA alone," said Gascon.
Prosecutors say Uber cannot claim to have rigorous, "industry-leading" background checks until it puts drivers through the same fingerprinting process required of taxi drivers in California.
According to the amended complaint, one Uber driver was shown to be convicted of second-degree murder in 1982. That driver spent 26 years in prison but applied to Uber under a different name.
The Uber background report found no criminal history. That driver became an Uber driver in LA until May of this year.
Nochlin said there are similar stories being told for drivers in LA convicted of kidnapping for ransom, sexual exploitation of children or simply not having a valid driver's license.
"I think it's pretty scary," said a customer.
"It's like anyone can be a driver," said another.
A spokeswoman for Uber worked to reassure customer outside of the DA's news conference.
"There are taxi drivers who have failed background checks exactly the same, this is just another indication that no system is 100 percent perfect and 100 percent fool proof. We look back in a way that builds safety into the experience from beginning to end," says Nairi Hourdajian of Uber.
Nochlin spoke to Uber riders who said while they might now be more on guard, they won't stop using the service.
"I'll probably still take it though because it's cheap," said one woman.
Uber also said their thorough background check goes back seven years but the DA's said that only looks for the conviction date -- meaning a driver may have just been released from a ten year prison sentence.