LOS ANGELES (AP) – A former Wells Fargo Bank executive accused of overseeing a ploy that created millions of fake customer accounts is facing a plea deal to face criminal charges that could send him to prison for his role in the scam. has agreed to.
A settlement filed Wednesday in a federal court in Los Angeles calls for former Wells Fargo executive Carrie Tolstead to serve a 16-month prison sentence for obstructing regulators’ investigation into abusive sales practices that culminated in the bank’s bankruptcy. Hui. Paying billions of dollars in fines. Tolstedt, 63, also agreed to pay a $17 million fine in a separate civil settlement with the government, which also bans him from ever working in the banking industry again.
Prosecutors are requesting an April 7 court hearing to review the plea agreement.
Tolstedt was Wells Fargo’s head of the division responsible for its vast network of retail branches before leaving in 2016, just before evidence of the bank’s abusive sales tactics emerged. After previously denying any wrongdoing, Tolstead became the first Wells Fargo executive to be criminally convicted for a scandal that resulted in the firing of 5,300 employees for bank records and other ethics violations.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo previously admitted it has ambitious sales targets culture was fostered This prompted its branch staff to open lakhs of unauthorized and fraudulent accounts from 2002 to 2016. The US Justice Department alleged that Tolstedt – who is now a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona – knew about the misconduct since 2004 and tried to cover up the misconduct after a memo prepared in 2015 for regulators looking into the practices.
“Obstructing the investigation compromises the mission of the Truth Seekers, and we will hold accountable anyone who attempts to cover up wrongdoing.” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNealy.