Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog
Last week, banking giant, Wells Fargo, agreed to a settlement with federal and state prosecutors in a California court to pay $185 million in penalties and $5 million in damages to affected customers following a wide-spread financial fraud scandal.
In May of last year, it was alleged that Wells Fargo had assigned fee-generating savings and credit accounts to customers with out prior knowledge or consent. According to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), this led to the creation of more than 2 million potentially unauthorized deposit and credit accounts.
The full amount of the $100 million fine charged by the CFPB will constitute the largest such fine the agency has ever imposed since its inception in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. A $35 million penalty will be paid to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and $50 million in damages will be paid to the city and county of Los Angeles. The settlement also provides an additional $5 million in customer restitution.