There was a burst of righteous populist anger anger last week, when it emerged that Wells Fargo had engaged in pervasive, "massive" fraud since at least 2011, including opening credit cards secretly without a customer’s consent, creating fake email accounts to sign up customers for online banking services, and forcing customers to accumulate late fees on accounts they never even knew they had. For this criminal conduct, Wells was fined $185 million (including a $100 million penalty from the CFPB, the largest penalty the agency has ever issued). In all, Wells opened 1.5 million bank accounts and "applied" for 565,000 credit cards that were not authorized by their customers.
As "punishment" Wells Fargo told CNN that it had fired 5,300 employees related to the shady behavior over the last few years. The firings represent about 1% of its workforce and took place over several years. The fired workers went to far as to create phony PIN numbers and fake email addresses to enroll customers in online banking services, the CFPB said. What was hushed away is that not a single employee will go to prison, and that ultimately it will be Wells Fargo's shareholders - such as Warren Buffett - who will end up footing the bill.
What Wells did not disclose publicly to anyone is that the head of the group responsible for Wells' biggest consumer fraud scandal in years, is quietly leaving the bank with a $125 million bonus, a bonus which as Fortune's Stephen Gandelwrites today will not see even one cent clawed back as part of the dramatic revelations.
According to Gandel, Carrie Tolstedt, the Wells Fargo executive who was in charge of the unit where employees opened more than 2 million largely unauthorized customer accounts—a seemingly routine practice that employees internally referred to as “sandbagging”— is leaving the giant bank with an enormous pay day, some $124.6 million.
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Unreal.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't YOU try opening fake credit cards under someone else's name?
Two million times.
You'd be buried in the prison yard. Your assets would be confiscated. You and your family would be bankrupted and humiliated.
Two sets of Laws.
Conspiracy, fraud, identity theft, etc. 2 million counts.
THAT is what prosecutors would do to you or me so they could force us to plead out and take a 25-life prison sentence.
Of course, you and I haven't contributed millions to her Foundation, party, and presidential campaign.
Keep cheering.
Just make sure that if your bank accidentally credits your account with an extra thousand dollars, you don't spend it. The State's Attorney will be going for some prison time.
He has been immediately put on the board of directors for the Clinton Foundation.
ReplyDeleteWells Fargo signed his contract. The board of directors approved it. Chances are that at least a few of the members knew what was happening and how wrong it was, but kept their mouths shut for the profits.
ReplyDeleteSpread the blame to everywhere it belongs.
Spread the prison terms.
ReplyDeleteIts like a crooked politician getting caught and saying "I take full responsibility" knowing damn well there is a tremendous difference between responsibilty and accountablity.
Nothing happens.
Prison would get their attention, but the Two Sets of Laws won't let it happen.
YOU go to prison. Not them.
Keep cheering your staus as expendable and irrelevant. They love it!
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB) was created by President Obama and Senator Warren against great opposition from the Republicans.
ReplyDeleteIn the 7-8 years CFPB has existed it has returned over 11 Billion dollars to ordinary people who had fraud committed against them by banks, credit card companies, etc, not I including this latest bust against Wells Fargo.
Congressman Andy Harris and his colleagues are still trying to defund the CFPB.
Jewish business rules have nothing to do with morality.
ReplyDeleteIt is about "making money".
Out of nothing.
They are very good at it.
Everyone else is jealous of them, because we are bogged down with morals of what is "right and wrong".
Want it?
Take it.
That is Jewish business in America and the West.
ReplyDeleteI smell the aroma of shareholder lawsuits due to reduced market value because of the 1) their actions over time, 2) fraud and 3) breach of contract since the contract may have had language akin to a 'morals' clause.
And Carrie is a female.