"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Who was the former CEO of Wells Fargo Bank?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"He became chairman in January 2010. Stumpf resigned as chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo on October 12, 2016, after a scandal involving customer accounts and subsequent pressure from the public and lawmakers. He was succeeded by Timothy J. Sloan."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Who is the top executive of Wells Fargo?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
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Former Wells Fargo executive avoids prison time for her role in fake-accounts fraud | CNN Business (2024)

Former Wells Fargo executive avoids prison time for her role in fake-accounts fraud | CNN Business (1)

Carrie Tolstedt, pictured in 2010, was the head of the Wells Fargo banking unit that opened millions of fraudulent accounts.

New York CNN

Former Wells Fargo executive Carrie Tolstedt was sentenced to three years’ probation on Friday for her role in the bank’s sprawling fake-accounts scandal.

Tolstedt had agreed to plead guilty to the criminal charge of obstructing regulators’ investigation of the bank, which she left in 2016 as the scandal burst into the public arena. Her lawyers argued for her to be sentenced to probation, including six months of home confinement, rather than the 12-month prison sentence sought by prosecutors.

Wells Fargo has spent billions of dollars over the past eight years to settle allegations related to the accounts scandal, in which Tolstedt played a key role.

As head of Wells Fargo’s community bank, Tolstedt oversaw an aggressive “cross-selling” strategy that resulted in more than 2 million fake bank and credit card accounts being opened without customers’ consent or knowledge.

Regulators said Tolstedt and the bank’s former CEO, John Stumpf,bragged to investors about the scale of the community bank’s open accounts, despite the fact that millions of accounts were fabricated by employees trying to meet unrealistic sales goals set by management.

Tolstedt signed off on the accuracy of Wells Fargo’s public disclosures “when she knew or was reckless in not knowing” that statements about the bank’s cross-sell metric were “materially false and misleading,” the Securities and Exchange Commission said when it charged Tolstedt and Stumpf in 2020.

Stumpf was banned from the banking industry and paid a $17.5 million fine as part of a settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Tolstedt, the only Wells Fargo executive to face criminal charges in the scheme, paid $17 million to settle a civil case with the the OCC, and $3 million to settle with the SEC.

She received a $125 million retirement package when she left Wells Fargo, though the bank has clawed back about $67 million of that.

Prison sentences for such high-level executives are rare. Only one Wall Street player served time for activities that led to the 2008 financial crisis. The last high-level executive to face prison time for financial crimes was former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, who served 12 years in prison following the energy giant’s collapse in 2001.

Wells Fargo hasstruggled to get its house in order since the fake account scandal. In 2018 the Fed imposed a cap on Wells Fargo’s assets — essentially barring it from increasing its balance sheet until it addresses the compliance failures that led to the scandals.

— CNN’s Matt Egan contributed to this article.

Former Wells Fargo executive avoids prison time for her role in fake-accounts fraud | CNN Business (2024)

FAQs

Former Wells Fargo executive avoids prison time for her role in fake-accounts fraud | CNN Business? ›

A former top Wells Fargo executive avoided prison time for her role in the bank's sham accounts scandal, after a federal judge on Friday instead sentenced her to six months of home confinement and three years of probation. She was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and perform 120 hours of community service.

Did ex Wells Fargo executive avoid jail for role in fake accounts? ›

A former Wells Fargo executive won't serve prison time for her role in the bank's fake-accounts scandal. A Los Angeles judge on Friday sentenced Carrie Tolstedt to three years' probation and six months of home confinement.

What happened in the Wells Fargo fake account scandal? ›

Wells Fargo's fake accounts scandal surfaced in September 2016, revealing that employees at the San Francisco-based bank had opened millions of fraudulent accounts, often to meet sales goals.

Who went to jail for the Wells Fargo scandal? ›

Carrie Tolstedt, scheduled to be sentenced Friday for her role in the company's phony-accounts scandal, has already paid for her crime and should receive three years probation, her attorneys argue in a sentencing memo. Prosecutors have recommended a year in prison.

Who was the former Wells Fargo executive? ›

Carrie Tolstedt was sentenced to three years of probation including six months of home confinement by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton in Los Angeles. She will also pay a $100,000 fine and serve 120 hours of community service.

How long did the Wells Fargo executive go to jail for? ›

A former top Wells Fargo executive avoided prison time for her role in the bank's sham accounts scandal, after a federal judge on Friday instead sentenced her to six months of home confinement and three years of probation. She was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and perform 120 hours of community service.

What is the Wells Fargo Legal scandal? ›

Wells Fargo & Company and its subsidiary, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., have agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve their potential criminal and civil liability stemming from a practice between 2002 and 2016 of pressuring employees to meet unrealistic sales goals that led thousands of employees to provide millions of accounts ...

How much will each person get from Wells Fargo Settlement? ›

For automobile repossessions, compensation is “at least,” but is not limited to, $4,000. For mortgage holders that were unable to modify their mortgages to avoid foreclosure, damages average $24,125 per claimant. For deposit accounts, customers average $100 in damages.

How many fake accounts were made at Wells Fargo? ›

In the 2016 scandal, bank employees opened 1.5 million bank accounts and 565,000 credit card accounts that customers did not request.

How did Wells Fargo recover from the scandal? ›

Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo overhauled its board of directors and management, paid more than a billion dollars in fines and penalties, and has spent eight years trying to show the public that the bad practices are a thing of the past.

Why did Wendy sue Wells Fargo? ›

TV personality Wendy Williams, 57, allegedly requested her bank statements from Wells Fargo at the start of the year to find that not only had the financial institution restricted her from accessing them, but it had frozen her bank accounts and petitioned the court for a temporary financial guardianship over her as ...

Where is Carrie Tolstedt now? ›

On March 15, 2023, Tolstedt pled guilty to obstructing a bank examination, and faces up to 16 months in prison. Tolstedt was ultimately sentenced to three years of probation and six months of home confinement. Tolstedt must also serve 120 hours of community service.

Who owns Wells Fargo Bank? ›

Who was the former CEO of Wells Fargo Bank? ›

He became chairman in January 2010. Stumpf resigned as chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo on October 12, 2016, after a scandal involving customer accounts and subsequent pressure from the public and lawmakers. He was succeeded by Timothy J. Sloan.

Who is the top executive of Wells Fargo? ›

Executives
  • Charles William Scharf President, Chief Executive Officer & Director.
  • Scott E. Powell Chief Operating Officer & Senior Executive VP.
  • Michael P. Santomassimo Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP.

What is the Wells Fargo fake account scandal? ›

The Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal was a major financial scandal that shook the banking industry to its core. The bank was revealed to have created fake accounts. Shockingly, these accounts were in the names of its customers. without their knowledge or consent.

What did Wells Fargo do after the 2016 scandal? ›

Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo overhauled its board of directors and management, paid more than a billion dollars in fines and penalties, and has spent eight years trying to show the public that the bad practices are a thing of the past.

Does Wells Fargo blacklist employees? ›

NPR's Wells Fargo Hurts Whistleblowers traces the systemic issues and indifferences of a ravenous sales culture that not only led to the creation of two million fake consumer banking accounts, but also the irrevocable blacklisting of employees who attempted to report unethical practices.

How Wells Fargo could have avoided a scandal? ›

Employees at Wells Fargo--and the company as a whole--could have benefitted from frequently reviewing their own goals to ensure they kept up with the company's mission, since studies show that companies that allow employees to revise or review their goals every month are 50% more likely to score in the top quartile of ...

What is Wells Fargo marketing after scandal? ›

Wells Fargo ran two big marketing campaigns after the scandal, once in 2018 and again in early 2019. The 2018 campaign, Re-Established, admitted the bank's wrongdoing and focused on how the bank was rebuilding trust. The 2019 campaign was similar.

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