Wells-Fargo

Wells Fargo Scandal Scorecard: 5,300 Workers Fired, Zero Execs Prosecuted

| Importance: 10/10

After nearly a decade of systematic fraud, multiple investigations, Congressional hearings, and billions in penalties, the Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal concludes with a stark scorecard that defines two-tiered justice in American finance: 3.5 million fraudulent accounts affecting millions of …

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Wells Fargo Fires 125 Employees for COVID Relief Fraud, Culture Unchanged

| Importance: 7/10

Wells Fargo terminates between 100 and 125 employees for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funds through the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Employees created fake profiles and made false representations to receive advances of up to $10,000 from the pandemic relief …

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Wells Fargo Pays $3 Billion, Admits Fraud, No Executives Charged

| Importance: 9/10

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission into sales practices that created millions of unauthorized accounts between 2002 and 2016. In a deferred prosecution agreement, Wells Fargo formally …

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DOJ Declines Criminal Prosecution of Wells Fargo Executives

| Importance: 10/10

The Department of Justice announces it will not bring criminal charges against any Wells Fargo executives for their roles in the fake accounts scandal, instead accepting a deferred prosecution agreement with the corporation. Despite Wells Fargo’s admission that “top Community Bank …

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Federal Reserve Imposes Unprecedented Asset Cap on Wells Fargo

| Importance: 9/10

The Federal Reserve Board imposes an unprecedented enforcement action against Wells Fargo, restricting the bank from growing beyond its total asset size as of December 31, 2017—approximately $1.95 trillion. The asset cap represents the most severe punishment the Fed has imposed on a major bank in …

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Wells Fargo Revises Fake Account Count to 3.5 Million, Up 67%

| Importance: 9/10

Wells Fargo announces that its fake accounts scandal affected approximately 3.5 million accounts—a 67% increase from the initial estimate of 2.1 million accounts disclosed during the 2016 settlement. The revised analysis covers January 2009 to September 2016, nearly twice the timeframe of the …

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Stumpf Resigns as CEO, Retains Over $130 Million in Compensation

| Importance: 8/10

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf resigns effective immediately, ending his 34-year career at the bank amid the fake accounts scandal. Despite calls from Senator Elizabeth Warren and others for him to forfeit his compensation and face criminal charges, Stumpf departs with approximately $130-137 million in …

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Wells Fargo Claws Back $41 Million from Stumpf's Compensation

| Importance: 7/10

Following intense Congressional pressure and public outrage, Wells Fargo announces that CEO John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in unvested stock awards and his 2016 salary and bonus. The clawback represents the board’s first attempt to impose financial consequences on senior leadership for …

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CEO Stumpf Testifies Before Senate, Elizabeth Warren Demands Resignation

| Importance: 9/10

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testifies before the Senate Banking Committee in a hearing titled “An Examination of Wells Fargo’s Unauthorized Accounts and the Regulatory Response.” Senator Elizabeth Warren delivers a devastating confrontation, accusing Stumpf of “gutless …

John Stumpf Elizabeth Warren U.S. Senate Banking Committee corporate-fraud wells-fargo congressional-oversight elizabeth-warren
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Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million for Creating 2 Million Fake Accounts

| Importance: 9/10

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Los Angeles City Attorney announce a combined $185 million settlement with Wells Fargo for the systematic creation of more than two million unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts. The CFPB assesses a $100 …

Wells Fargo John Stumpf Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray corporate-fraud banking-regulation wells-fargo regulatory-capture cfpb
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Wells Fargo Sales Practices Investigation Begins

| Importance: 8/10

The Los Angeles Times investigates Wells Fargo’s aggressive sales practices, revealing systematic pressures on employees to create unauthorized accounts. The investigation exposes a corporate culture that incentivized fraud, with employees opening fake accounts to meet impossible sales quotas. …

Wells Fargo Board John Stumpf Scott Reckard (LA Times Reporter) corporate-fraud banking-regulation regulatory-capture wells-fargo
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Wells Fargo Fires 5,300 Low-Level Workers While Executives Keep Jobs

| Importance: 8/10

Wells Fargo begins systematically firing approximately 5,300 low-level employees between 2011 and 2016 for creating unauthorized customer accounts, while the senior executives who designed the sales incentive systems and set impossible quotas face no disciplinary action. The firings demonstrate a …

Wells Fargo John Stumpf Carrie Tolstedt corporate-fraud wells-fargo economic-inequality corporate-accountability
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Wells Fargo Employees Begin Creating 3.5 Million Fake Accounts

| Importance: 9/10

Wells Fargo employees begin a systematic scheme to create unauthorized bank and credit card accounts, ultimately affecting 3.5 million customer accounts over five years. Driven by aggressive sales targets and compensation incentives, employees open accounts without customer consent, forge …

Wells Fargo John Stumpf Carrie Tolstedt corporate-fraud banking-regulation wells-fargo financial-crime
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Wells Fargo Hires SEC Enforcement Chief: Investigation Needed

| Importance: 3/10

Unverified claim about Wells Fargo hiring a former SEC enforcement official requires comprehensive investigation. No credible sources could confirm the specific details of this alleged hiring in 2010.

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SEC Revolving Door: Wells Fargo Hires Enforcement Official Amid Ongoing Investigations

| Importance: 8/10

Academic research reveals systemic problems with the SEC’s ‘revolving door’ between regulatory agencies and financial institutions. Between 2001-2010, 419 former SEC employees filed 1,949 disclosure statements for private representation, creating significant conflicts of interest. …

Wells Fargo & Co. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC San Francisco enforcement branch Former SEC enforcement chief Private financial defense attorneys +2 more regulatory-capture sec-revolving-door wells-fargo enforcement-conflicts financial-regulation +1 more
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