Arizona treasurer candidates Mansour, Norton using past lawsuits against each other

PHOENIX -- The Republican and Democrat running for state treasurer are dredging up their opponent's past legal troubles in attempts to convince voters not to trust the other with $32 billion in state assets.
On the campaign trail and on the debate stage, Democrat Nick Mansour and Republican Elijah Norton leaned on lawsuits and opposition websites to undercut the other's credibility.
Mansour lays out more than 100 lawsuits filed against Veritas Global Protection Services, an international company that offers vehicle protection plans owned and operated by Norton, and its affiliated insurers over issues like denied claims and robocalls.
"You probably have to read the fine print pretty closely on these warranties," Mansour said.
Norton is pointing to Mansour's time as chief operating officer of Arizona College of Nursing, a multistate private school that offers nursing degrees as well as allied health programs like medical assistant, pharmacy technician, and healthcare administration, citing litigation from students and a probation period imposed by the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
"He's just not someone that I think Arizona could trust," Norton said.
Norton founded RED Auto Protection Inc. in 2011 and went on to start CarGuard Administration in 2015 and Veritas Global Protection Services in 2019.
Norton lists at least two dozen associated businesses in his latest financial disclosure report.
According to the filing, Norton said he is no longer affiliated with RED Auto Protection but is a continued shareholder in CarGuard. And his presence as president of Veritas Global Protection Services truly goes global, with offices listed in South Africa, Chile, United Arab Emirates and Poland.
A website called "Never Norton," paid for by the Arizona Democratic Party and authorized by Mansour, lays out more than 100 lawsuits filed against RED Auto Protection, CarGuard and Veritas from 2018 to 2026, primarily over illegal robocalls and denied insurance claims.
The site lists 42 cases against Veritas Global Protection Services, 32 cases against RED Auto and 39 lawsuits against CarGuard.
Mansour's campaign also points out Veritas Global Protection Services had received 265 complaints in the last three years with the Better Business Bureau. Customers have complained online, too, to discuss troubles with claims and warranties under Veritas.
Norton clarified his companies only administer the insurance claims, and he shifted blame to the dealerships and agencies the company works with.
"A customer will sue us because they know we have deep pockets," Norton said. "They'll sue us for something that the dealer does."
For instance, Norton said a dealer might "misrepresent coverage" or an agency may make robocalls, though he noted Veritas prohibits outbound phone calls in its agreements.
"We don't even have the technology to make robocalls," Norton said.
Norton also pointed to the scope of Veritas, noting the company works with more than 7,000 dealerships across the globe.
"When you have a big organization with a lot of customers and $1 billion a year in revenue, litigation is bound to happen," Norton said.
The website "Con Man Mansour," paid for by Friends of Elijah Norton and authorized by Norton, lays out Mansour's time at Arizona College of Nursing and tries to tie a connection to his brief stint at Pacific Pulmonary Services, a company providing oxygen and sleep therapy equipment.
In 2017, Pacific Pulmonary had to pay $11.4 million to the Department of Justice for submitting claims for equipment to Medicare without obtaining authorization of a physician and engaging in a cross-referral kickback scheme with sleep clinics.
The DOJ alleged the false Medicare claims began in 2004 and the kickback scheme started in 2006. Mansour joined Pacific Pulmonary in late 2007 as vice president of business development, but he maintained his role "never had anything to do with Medicare."
Mansour said he was there for less than a year.
As for his time at Arizona College of Nursing, Mansour said during the time he served as chairman and chief executive officer from 2010 to 2025, he remembers four lawsuits.
Norton's website prominently displays one.
In 2022, 20 students in Texas sued the Arizona College of Nursing, alleging the school overcharged for credit hours, increased class and test difficulty to prompt program failure, disqualified students over background issues and failed to provide students with COVID-19 relief funds.
A judge stayed and closed the case pending arbitration in 2022 and has denied attempts to reopen litigation.
The website also pointed out the Arizona State Board of Nursing put Arizona College of Nursing on probation for 36 months.
Complaints from students and faculty alleged mass faculty dismissals, sudden changes in courses and programs and a decline in graduate completion rates.
In August 2021, the school fired 32 clinical faculty members for lacking a master's degree. But the dismissal came two weeks before the start of the semester, resulting in the cancellation of 19% of the school's clinical experiences and a decrease in completion rates.
"It was a lot of hard work. We went in there. We had to hold people responsible. I met with groups of students pretty frequently for a period of time, and it took a few months to get us back to where we wanted to be," Mansour said.
Mansour claims the college ultimately "righted the course."
"We were transparent with the students about it. We let them know what was happening and what we were doing about it. And that's how I would intend to be as treasurer," Mansour said.
Norton’s latest campaign finance report shows he’s collected $3.2 million so far, though $2.9 million came from his own pocket. Mansour’s report for the same period shows around $1.3 million income, including close to $393,000 listed as personal and family contributions.
Unlike Mansour, Norton faced a primary and spent around $3.1 million to fend off his challenger, Katherine Haley, winning on a 56-44 margin. He ended the quarter with just under $44,200 cash on hand. Mansour, who did not have a primary foe, has around $842,000.
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On X: @kiera_riley