Wells Fargo to Settle Financial Fraud for $142M Scams & Fraud
Wells Fargo to Pay Fraud Victims $142M
Older customers among those targeted in bogus account scheme
Getty Images By Wells Fargo’s count, bank employees opened 2.1 million unauthorized accounts between May 2011-July 2015. To , Wells Fargo has agreed to set aside $142 million to pay customers who were harmed when bank employees created phony accounts for them without their knowledge. A federal judge approved the settlement, which Wells Fargo president and chief executive Tim Sloan described as “a major milestone in our efforts to make things right for our customers.” — Receive access to exclusive information, benefits and discounts By Wells Fargo’s count, bank employees opened 2.1 million unauthorized accounts between May 2011 and July 2015, but lawyers for customers have estimated that the number may be as high as 3.5 million, the Los Angeles Times reported in May. An independent expert will decide how much each customer will be compensated, according to a Wells Fargo news release. The payments will go beyond the unwarranted fees they were charged. Customers will also be compensated if their credit score dropped because of the scam and they had to pay a higher interest rate on a “credit product,” such as a home loan. The New York Times reported last year that bank employees had , partly because they tended to ask fewer questions. Employees opened additional accounts in customers’ names, which caused them to rack up additional fees and may have hurt their credit scores.
More on Scams and Fraud
SCAM ALERT: QUIZ: Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.