There’s always a LOT of horrible things to choose from for News To Make You Furious, but the things that actually make us most Furious aren’t the ones that are just bad, but where there’s an obvious solution that’s being ignored. By that standard this month’s subject just jumped out. There are few clearer examples of intentional, unambiguous, flamboyant, unapologetic, and unpunished fraud as the latest defecatory downpour unleashed by Wells Fargo Bank. 
The solution to their sort of criminality has been obvious for as long as civilization has had courts and jails, but there’s no chance it will be implemented. If that’s not enough to rupture your amygdala, just wait until you see the patronizing drivel they’re trying to shove down the throats of their customers in the wake of their latest crimes…
Now DON’T get confused… this isn’t about the Wells Fargo settlement for ordering home inspections every month on borrowers who were late on mortgage payments. It’s not about the Wells Fargo settlement for ‘robo-signing’ foreclosure documents, nor is it about the Wells Fargo settlement for issuing loans without telling the borrowers that their payments would actually increase their principal. It’s definitely not about the Wells Fargo settlement for discriminating against black and Hispanic mortgage applicants, and God forbid it should be about Wells Fargo hiding $1.2 billion in loans in the leadup to the 2008 crash. No, this is about the latest Wells Fargo settlement of a crime that must be considered on its own instead of more damning evidence of a pervasive pattern of criminality and racketeering. Let’s all keep our eyes on the ball…
What happened this time is that, beginning as early as 2011, Wells Fargo secretly opened unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts in the names of their existing customers. Not just a few, either… more than 2 million of them. They opened the accounts, set up PIN numbers, even transferred money out of the clients existing accounts and into the fraudulent accounts. Get this… when customers had bounced checks because the money they thought was in their account actually wasn’t, Wells Fargo had the gall to hit them with service fees! Well, when this widespread fraud came to light Wells Fargo knew exactly how to handle it… they fired 5,300 front-line employees and even a few low-level managers for 2 million apparently unrelated acts of fraud.
Thank goodness that weeded out the bad apples! Apparently none of the upper level managers knew anything about the pervasive multi-million dollar scheme, since none were fired or face criminal prosecution of any kind. For instance, Carrie Tolstedt, 27-veteran of the bank and director of the community banking division where the frauds of her underlings took place for years without her knowledge, was absolutely innocent in the whole affair and will ‘retire’ with a $125 million dollar package. And of course it would be unreasonable to expect John Strumpf, who as CEO is the person responsible for the actions of Wells Fargo, to be aware of the actions of Wells Fargo! He reassured us of that during his testimony before the Senate, where he emphasized that he was totally inexpert, uninvolved, and unaware of the activities of the company he was paid $12.6 million to run.
John Oliver blasts Wells Fargo on Last Week Tonight… we laugh that we may not cry
We can all take comfort in the fact that Wells Fargo will be forced to pay $185 million in fines to make good on this affront. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) notes that the $100 million it will collect was the agency’s largest penalty ever, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said the $35 million it will levy will “demonstrate that such practices will not be tolerated and banks will be held responsible”. LA City Attorney called their $50 million penalty a major victory for consumers. And why wouldn’t they be excited? $185 million is almost one percent of Wells Fargo’s 2015 profit of $20 billion, which certainly will slam the door on this type of abuse in the future.
We’re guessing you’re already Furious by this time, but we want to leave you with a kicker… to push you over the edge into anger, to step into the ring of wrath, we’ll leave Wells Fargo to have the last word. Here’s a little from their website on how deeply they care about their commitment to integrity and customer service. If that doesn’t leave you feeling patronized, condescended to, lied to, abused, and insulted all at the same time, then you just aren’t paying attention!
“Everything we do is built on trust. It doesn’t happen with one transaction, in one day on the job or in one quarter. It’s earned relationship by relationship.” John G. Stumpf, Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo Bank
The Vision and Values of Wells Fargo; Wells Fargo website as of Sep 2016
Corporate Social Responsibility; Wells Fargo website as of Sep 2016
To Wells Fargo customers: Our commitment to you; Wells Fargo website as of Sep 2016
Digging Deeper (if you have the stomach for it!)
Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million Over Creation Of Fake Accounts For Bonuses; by Bill Chappell on NPR’s “The Two-Way”, Sep 2016
The Real Wells Fargo Problem- The bank’s internal systems didn’t fail, they worked exactly as intended; by David Brodwin in US News, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo Warned Workers Against Sham Accounts, but ‘They Needed a Paycheck’; by Michael Corkery and Stacy Cowley in The New York Times, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo: Will They (We) Ever Learn?; by Ken Weber on Huffington Post, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo settlement over phony accounts raises questions about oversight; by Renae Merle and Jonnelle Marte in The Washington Post, Sep 2016
Consumer bureau remains partisan target after Wells Fargo settlement; by Peter Schroeder in The Hill, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo CEO denies orchestrated fraud in accounts scandal; by Matt Egan and Chris Isidore at CNN Money, Sep 2016
I called the Wells Fargo ethics line and was fired; by Matt Egan at CNN Money, Sep 2016
5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired over 2 million phony accounts; by Matt Egan at CNN Money, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo’s Business Model is Fraud; by Senator Bernie Sanders, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo’s Stumpf Leads the Way; by Dave Lindorff on CounterPunch, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo’s name has become a punchline; by Kevin G. Hall on McClatchy.com, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo must die; by Ian Reifowitz on DailyKos.com, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo CEO leaves bank panel in wake of fraud; by Paul Davidson in USA Today, Sep 2016
5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired over 2 million phony accounts; by Matt Egan on CNN Money, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo CEO denies orchestrated fraud in accounts scandal; by Matt Egan and Chris Isidore on CNN Money, Sep 2016
Employees WHO DID NOT participate in fraud sue Wells Fargo for being fired for NOT defrauding people; by Walter Einenkel on DailyKos.com, Sep 2016
Wells Fargo CEO gets $123.6M if he walks; by Matt Krantz on CNBC.com, Sep 2016
First They Jailed the Bankers, Now Every Icelander to Get Paid in Bank Sale; by Claire Bernish on Antimedia, Oct 2015
Senator Elizabeth Warren Grills Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf On WFC Cross-Selling; CNBC Video from Senate Testimony, Sep 2016
Merkley Questions Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Illegal Accounts; Video from Senate Testimony on Merkley’s Senate website, Sep 2016
