Wells Fargo Ordered to Pay $3.7 Billion for Illegally Foreclosing on Homes & Mismanaging Accounts

Wells Fargo is ordered to pay $3.7 billion to customers for illegal foreclosures and repossessions, misapplied loan payments, and wrongfully assessing fees. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, these events have adversely impacted 16 million customers. Wells Fargo is also being sanctioned for fraudulently opening millions of new accounts. The company's CEO, Charlie Scharf, released the following statement, "We and our regulators have identified a series of unacceptable practices that we have been working systematically to change and provide customer remediation where warranted."

The bank's fraud and negligence violated the Consumer Protection Act. Therefore, in addition to paying billions of dollars in fines, Wells Fargo must also refund auto loan borrowers for add-on fees and discontinue surprise overdraft fees. Wells Fargo was a leading mortgage lender for years.