# CNN: 5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired for creating over 2 million phony accounts **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 8, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361 "2016-09-08T20:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/141 "2016-09-23T14:08:12Z")
I’m about ready to start blaming the customers for not bailing out on this POS organization. Why would anyone stay with them after they demonstrated how far they will go to cheat you? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/142 "2016-09-23T14:31:03Z")
I dunno, maybe because the average American is really ignorant about financial matters? Also, if the bank is committing identity theft it doesn’t matter if you take your business elsewhere, they’ll just continue to use your information for their purposes. Sort of like Hotel California, you can close your account any time but you can never leave. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/143 "2016-09-23T14:44:19Z")
I’m starting to feel sorry for the 5300 employees. They’re getting fired for doing what they were pressured to do and their bosses are getting bonuses. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/144 "2016-09-23T15:07:05Z")
I’d bet some exec managed to swing the head cout drop back to a cost reduction bonus plan as well. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/145 "2016-09-23T15:30:57Z")
> [@TheSeaOtter](#): > > One employee stealing from customers is a bad employee. _Five thousand_ employees stealing from customers is fucking business model. :mad: I am _sooo_ stealing that. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/146 "2016-09-23T16:42:36Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I’m about ready to start blaming the customers for not bailing out on this POS organization. Why would anyone stay with them after they demonstrated how far they will go to cheat you? The “sticky” nature of banking is why people don’t switch. I am a Wells Customer. I have the following: - Checking - Savings - Credit Card - Mortgage - HELOC All of these are inter-connected. They are linked to direct deposit from work, direct withdrawal / charges from a ton of different services. Unwinding my relationship with Wells would take me a full day minimum just to identify WHAT I need to unwind, plus I would guess at least 3 months of monitoring in case I forgot anything. I think of the connections: Uber, Lyft, gym membership, two employers making deposits, insurance, student loans, kid’s private school, etc. Unmitigated nightmare - and I would have to be convinced that the NEW bank is any better. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/147 "2016-09-23T17:02:06Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > I am a Wells Customer. I have the following: That you know of. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/148 "2016-09-23T17:08:32Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [Looks like some employees may have been fired for calling the ethics hotline.](http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/21/investing/wells-fargo-fired-workers-retaliation-fake-accounts/index.html) Right, and this sort of thing is what makes **Fotheringay-Phipps** ’s apologia ring so hollow. If you’ve got people calling ethics hotlines about stuff like this, then this is the sort of shit that really DOES need to find its way up the chain of command, because if it’s happening at one branch or in one region, in an area of business where the bank has seen strong growth, then it should be clear that the same problems are—or at least might be—happening elsewhere. > [@ivylass](#): > > I’m starting to feel sorry for the 5300 employees. They’re getting fired for doing what they were pressured to do and their bosses are getting bonuses. My thoughts exactly. I hate what they were doing, and i’d be royally pissed with any employee who did it to me, but in the aggregate it’s clear that this was pushed at an institutional level, and that it was very hard (perhaps impossible) for individual employees to do anything about it. If you set goals that are basically impossible to meet without cheating, and make clear that you’re going to fire people for failing to meet those goals, then you’re complicit in the cheating that results. I did get a bit of a morbid chuckle at this quote from your linked CNN story: > [@](#): > > A current Wells Fargo employee who works in Brock’s branch vouched for her version of events. > > “That’s really scary when you’re with a big corporation like this and HR doesn’t have your back,” said the current employee, who wished to remain anonymous so as not to get fired as well. Yeah, right. Any employee working for “a big corporation like this” who thinks that HR is looking out for the interests of the workers needs a reality check. HR is there to protect the company from you, not to protect you from the company. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/149 "2016-09-24T00:23:06Z")
Wells Fargo isn’t the only one. When I refinanced my mortgage with Chase a few years ago, I received a completely unexpected credit card in the mail. Since I didn’t ask for it and didn’t want it, I never activated it. I forgot about it till a couple of years later when I checked my credit report and it showed up there, so I had to call and cancel it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/150 "2016-09-24T01:49:36Z")
[Eight Senators are asking the Labor Department to investigate Wells Fargo’s violation of overtime rules.](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wells-fargo-overtime-20160922-snap-story.html) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/151 "2016-09-28T01:22:32Z")
I Got Yer Accountability Right Here! “Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million for the bank’s burgeoning sales scandal, marking one of the biggest rebukes to the head of a major U.S. financial institution.” > **[Wells Fargo Claws Back Millions From CEO After Scandal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/wells-fargo-board-actively-considering-executive-clawbacks-1474985652)** > > Wells Fargo & Co.’s board said it plans to claw back $41 million in compensation from Chief Executive John Stumpf as punishment for the bank’s burgeoning sales-tactics scandal, marking the first time since at least the financial crisis that a... ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/152 "2016-09-28T01:25:24Z")
Edit function not functioning. It looks like the WSJ link is one of those pay to play links. Here’s another one: [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-27/wells-fargo-ceo-forfeits-more-than-41-million-amid-board-review](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-27/wells-fargo-ceo-forfeits-more-than-41-million-amid-board-review) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/153 "2016-09-28T01:29:34Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I Got Yer Accountability Right Here! > > “Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million for the bank’s burgeoning sales scandal, marking one of the biggest rebukes to the head of a major U.S. financial institution.” > > [http://www.wsj.com/articles/wells-fargo-board-actively-considering-executive-clawbacks-1474985652](http://www.wsj.com/articles/wells-fargo-board-actively-considering-executive-clawbacks-1474985652) Why doesn’t this site have a like button? I feel the pressing need to hit it like a hamster working for crack treats. It is about damned time. That bitch got slapped hard and it was completely appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/154 "2016-09-28T18:44:19Z")
17 year old kid facing up to 35 years for credit card fraud. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8vLrqi79RI) Isn’t it credit card fraud to open unauthorized accounts? Losing a few million is a start, but those folks need to be looking at serious prison time as well. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/155 "2016-09-28T19:02:24Z")
Those kinda guys don’t get “serious” prison time, they get Club Fed, where the wine list is mediocre and the chef can’t make a decent white sauce. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/156 "2016-09-29T14:17:43Z")
“Stumpf told employees in a memo that he offered to give up $41 million in \*\*unvested \*\*stock, which reflected his performance back to 2013, and the board accepted.” ‘unvested’ stock. It’s not all his yet. I very much doubt he is going to go hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/157 "2016-09-29T18:39:37Z")
[California treasurer cuts some ties with Wells Fargo](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wells-chiang-20160928-snap-story.html) Basically they are going to quit investing in Wells Fargo securities, as well as some other sanctions, for a year. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/158 "2016-09-29T19:17:08Z")
Question for those in the know - Stumpf has given up/had clawed back unvested options. Does anyone know when they were expected to vest? Wells Fargo’s stock price was about $48/50 for most of the year, but is now at $44 and would likely go lower if they become targets for lawsuits. He might not actually have given up anything anyway. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/159 "2016-09-29T20:18:43Z")
See that guy at the end of the bar, grumbling and talking to himself? He bought Wells at 50. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361/160 "2016-09-29T21:56:45Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > [California treasurer cuts some ties with Wells Fargo](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wells-chiang-20160928-snap-story.html) > > Basically they are going to quit investing in Wells Fargo securities, as well as some other sanctions, for a year. Not using Wells to underwrite California bonds (and we sell lots of bonds) which is a very lucrative business is the big story here, bigger than not investing in securities. Also big because Wells is headquartered in San Francisco. They also said that they are going to try to use the clout they have from the retirement funds to try to separate the Chairman and CEO jobs. Screwing Wells has clearly become a popular political move. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-5-300-wells-fargo-employees-fired-for-creating-over-2-million-phony-accounts/765361.md?page=9)