New York, November 7 (RHC)-- Oil giant ExxonMobil is under criminal investigation in the United States over claims it lied to the public and investors about the risks of climate change.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has issued a subpoena to Exxon demanding the company turn over financial records, e-mails and other documents. This comes after recent exposés by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times revealed that for decades Exxon concealed its own findings that fossil fuels cause global warming, alter the climate and melt the Arctic ice.

Exxon scientists knew about climate change as early as 1977. But beginning in the 1980s, the company openly embraced climate denial and spent millions of dollars funding outside groups that sought to undermine climate science.

Bill McKibben of 350.org praised the New York probe, tweeting: "Just a remarkable day. [The] World’s most powerful fossil fuel company may actually be held to account for helping wreck our planet." Legal experts say other oil companies who have promoted climate denial could face similar investigations.