Corporate

Crime

(No One Goes to Prison??)

Wells Fargo exec was fired for not scamming N.J. customers, lawsuit says

A Somerset County woman is suing Wells Fargo Bank alleging she was fired for refusing to participate in an alleged scheme similar to the bank's widespread account scam that led to millions of dollars in federal fines.  

Melinda Bini, a former assistant vice president and regional private banker at the Highland Park bank's branch, says in a recent lawsuit that supervisors instructed her to manipulate accounts and sell banking products or investments that were not the customers' best interest or without their knowledge.

 Wells Fargo, the second-largest banking institution in New Jersey, was fined $100 million in September 2016 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for using fake emails to sign up current customers for additional accounts without their consent. 

The bank eventually fired more than 5,000 employees for enrolling customers illegally as a way to meet their sales quotas.

 DYI