Wells Fargo will pay $185 million in fines after it was caught illegally manipulating customers’ bank accounts in order to rack up fees and other charges. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found Wells Fargo employees secretly opened phony bank accounts and issued credit cards to customers who did not want them. They took private customer information to create 2 million fake accounts in order to meet sales targets. The scandal dates back to at least 2011, and CEO John Stumpf admits he’s known about the practice since 2013. These practices led to overdraft charges, late fees and other penalties. The bank has fired at least 5,300 employees involved in the illegal activity.
— source democracynow.org