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Wells Fargo whistleblower on fraudulent banking practices ... Thanx to CBS News
This posting will be for the "Wells Fargo" and "Too Big to Fail Ba(n)kery" series of this journal/ blog. I wanted to do an update on Wells Fargo bank, and to add one more piece to the many on the internet on this. It's been 2 years now since my last, so I been reading up on what they have been doing to change their culture. I been reading several articles on them, and chose to link some below for this update. Like some other historically great American institutions, what Henry Wells and William Fargo started back in the 1800's, is far different than what it has become today ... and showing us more advertisements of the old pony express or whatever, is not going to fix its systemic problems. The latest investigation is on the push to get folks to rollover their 401(k) to their Wells Fargo IRA, it's more like rollover and bend over. A business has every reason and right to promote products and so forth, that's what a business is supposed to do ... but what this institution has been doing, is not what I see as doing straight business. I opened with a recent august 2018 video above, with former Wells Fargo employee turned whistleblower, Yesenia Guitron, who told folks several years ago, how she thought they would change, if nobody tried to stop this ... she was accurate too. I myself, do not buy that these are just glitches, mistakes, accidents, or whatever. I alwayz give the benefit of doubt at first, in fairness ... but I been following this, and it's too well organized, and too often. And even though the top crust in Wells Fargo admits to not much of anything, besides mild misconduct at most, or claims to know nothing, seen nothing, heard nothing, etc ... they are too quick to pay off and settle. This is serious, when you have an institution this large, and such a large amount of people/ customers affected. At the bottom half of this posting, I will add some more of my thoughts on this.
***** LOS ANGELES TIMES: Wells Fargo foreclosed on 400 people who may have had a chance to keep their homes ... (newsread)
***** MARKETWATCH: Wells Fargo accidentally foreclosed on more homes- what you should do in a similar situation ... (newsread)
***** CNBC: Labor Department is reportedly investigating Wells Fargo's 401(k) unit ... (newsread/ video)
***** JOHN W. EVANS | STOCKLAW: Wells Fargo Filing Admits Investigation into 401(k)- to- IRA Rollover Recommendations ... (article)
***** NEW YORK TIMES: Wells Fargo Forced Unwanted Auto Insurance on Borrowers ... (newsread)
***** CNN MONEY: Wells Fargo timeline: Bank's 20 month nightmare ... (newsread)
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***** PD/ RCJ: "WELLS FARGO" ... PART'S 2 & 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "TOO BIG TO FAIL BA(N)KERY" ... PART'S 6 THRU 1
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Thomas Hudson Pickering/ Ranch Chimp
The bold type "Wells Fargo Fraud & Theft Culture" in the posting title, is what this should be truly called, that is why I wrote it like that ... although some may think that is defamation ... if so ... sue me. I think it's time that folks call these scumbag institutions what they truly are, and fuck all this politically correct sugarcoating. When Wells Fargo got fined $1 billion last, the Acting Director, Mick Mulvaney of the CFPB, made a public statement saying that he was proud of how they cracked down on these folks for "misbehaving". Whether it's this $1 billion or $185 million fine, this is nothing compared to the profits they bring in to Wells Fargo, it's simply the price of doing business ... and I'm sure they have some legislation already rigged, to get taxpayers to pay the largest amount of those fines. Even back in the 2008 $15.1 billion all stock acquisition/ merger, where Wells Fargo took over the so called "troubled" Wachovia ... later in 2010, Wells Fargo acknowledged to federal prosecutors, that between 2004 and 2007, Wachovia failed to "monitor" money laundering with drug traffickers/ cartels in their institution, including 4 planes bought, that transported 22 tons of cocaine into Mexico. I seen a business analyst on some financial station one night, saying that Wells Fargo is being picked on, for a few mistakes they made, and that there is now a witch hunt with microscopes on them in 2018 ... bottom line, there should be with their track record. No ... this is not a witch hunt ... this institution is clearly about organized crime, any way you slice it, they even acknowledge their so called "mistakes" and "misconduct". Just on the findings and settlements as far as foreclosing on homeowners, and screwing their credit ... this time they are blaming it on a computer glitch, and that they put aside $8 million to disburse to these 600 that they improperly denied modification to in the foreclosure process, and 400 people they took their homes from, amounts to maybe $13,000 to maybe $20,000 tops to compensate them. $8 million dollars? ... are you kidding? ... if you live in a place like California, or just about anywhere in the U.S. that isnt in the middle of nowhere, even $20,000 cant do much for you, you just lost your home, destroyed your credit standing, etc. These are not kidz that are "misbehaving", "troubled", or made a few mistakes and misconduct ... this is a culture of repetitious criminal activity. They have to now blame everything on computer glitches, because they are running out of lies and excuses. These folks are well educated, they are using force and threats in their management, to force employees to do this to customers, in fact, it is all detailed and calculated as to how they are going to rip people off ... it's very organized, and it is criminal.
When U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California said that these folks should be shut down ... some say that it would hurt too much, that Wells Fargo has over 70,000,000 customers and 270,000 employees. Allowing these institutions to continue as usual, will hurt too much if/ when the economy gets hit with another financial crisis ... bottom line. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts been hammering this as well for years, but until a joint majority in our Congress actually act to do something about this, this culture of fraud and theft will continue. Although not too much is being done in Washington, and some of those who speak out against it know that nothing will be done at the same time, if intentional, just politically highsiding ... but at least, their bringing this into the spotlight makes the people/ consumers more aware. This is an institution that is 2nd largest of its kind in the world by market capitalization, and 3rd largest in the U.S. by total assets, so everything is "large" about this, including the theft/ fraud. The Federal Reserve ordered them to cap their growth and not increase assets beyond $1.95 trillion, they are at about $1.952 trillion now. As far as the talk about how large they are ... this clearly shows how large their theft and fraud is, talk about that. You have 800,000 people that they forced unnecessary auto insurance on, even after customers showed documentation that they were already legally covered insurance wise, they still took their money and threatened them. The National General Insurance company, who Wells Fargo contracted to underwrite, received shared revenues and commissions from Wells Fargo, clearly well calculated. 274,000 improperly penalized for delinquency, ending up with 20,000 to 25,000 wrongful vehicle repossessions ... by criminal law, the methods similar to a large scale car theft design of unprecedented levels, looking at a case history of the various types and methods of car theft. Forced products on millions without authorization from the customer, millions overcharged illegally, money outright stolen from accounts, these people even attack the elderly and our active duty military in large numbers. These folks have no limits on who they rob basically, it is unnatural and obscene to even have any respect for folks like this, and institutions like this are a disgrace to anything that resembles democracy or free market. It is odd how there is alwayz a computer glitch, or mistake made, when these robberies get exposed ... how many times, do any of these glitches or mistakes come out in the customers favour? I mean, how often do these glitches and mistakes put hundreds or thousands of dollars into customers accounts? ... this shows you the depth and well organization of this theft. Wells Fargo has a scam for everything, and the smallest depositors/ investors/ borrowers get hit the hardest ... they have everything covered, from home to auto to credit cards ... and they been going after folks retirement accounts, to top it off.
My first contact with this culture at Wells Fargo was a decade ago, my daughter was working part time as a receptionist for a small business while going to college full time. She used Wells Fargo to deposit what little money she had, and said they have been taking money through improper charges from her account, she used Wells Fargo, because the university she attended had some promotion deal of some kind with Wells Fargo, and many of the nearly 40,000 students used the bank. I dont have any banking background, or knew a thing about it, but growing up as a street kid, I seen it was a bite/ scam ... I told her she is getting burned. My daughter went to the bank, questioned it, got the run around and excuses, and they were kind of insulting to her, I guess because she was a kid. After, she just decided to take her little money out and take it elsewhere. I know another guy who has his own air conditioning and heating business, with a few workers, he was using them, and accounts were created and fees, that he caught reading statements, he went through shit with them and took his money out. A few other people I have talked to had problems with overdraft fees and how some fees were calculated, all this over the last decade, I had the chance to hear from folks that had issues with them. Before the last CEO, John Stumpf left Wells Fargo, he talked about making individual relationships with all the customers, trying to come clean and regain customers trust, etc. You know, in my view, it is too little too late, they have a history of what they do, over and over, frankly it gets sickening having to listen to their lame excuses, whining, and pleas for forgiveness time and again. Bottom line, like anyone that commits criminal offenses like this, they should be criminally charged and given their day in court, and if found guilty, have to do prison time. Much of what falls into place as organized crime/ racketeering ... it is insulting to the victims of these crimes, that these offenses are not even falling under the RICO Act, and the ridiculous amount of leniency they get. When you start to criminally charge these folks, it will NOT put the institution out of business, but really inspire change in that culture. The DOJ instructing Wells Fargo to conduct an independent investigation of their Wealth and Investment Management business, with a contractor of their choice, is not going to cut it either ... who do you think they will contract? ... we need to choose who investigates. In the meantime, since Washington is restrained politically from taking more serious needed actions, or the Justice Department doesnt get more on them ... it is the customer who can really hurt them, by boycotting Wells Fargo and the crummy products they peddle. I guarantee you, if they went from 70 million customers to 35 million ... you can bet they would get a loud and clear message, just like locking some of them up, and that is how things should work in a market ran culture.
Word Out ....
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** "THE RESISTANCE | PERILS OF THE POWER POSSE" ... ( a 2 part futuristic Ranch Chimp Journal dream to dream on )
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