San Francisco D.A. finds sex offenders, convicted murderer among Uber drivers

The San Francisco district attorney has announced the expansion of a consumer-protection lawsuit aimed at Uber’s claims about driver background checks.

District Attorney George Gascon says the growing ride-hailing company continues to unfairly claim it is rigorously checking the background of its drivers. Gascon says Uber can’t make that claim unless it puts drivers through the same fingerprinting process required of taxi drivers in California.

Gascon made his comments on Wednesday, a day after his office filed an expanded lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court, accusing Uber of false advertising.

The expanded lawsuit claims Uber failed to uncover the criminal records of 25 California drivers, including several registered sex offenders and a convicted murderer.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Uber said it disagrees with Gascon. A company spokeswoman said that no background check system is flawless and its checks are just as detailed as with taxi drivers.