SAN FRANCISCO–Wells Fargo now has something to draw attention away from its fake account scam: it’s been fined $24 million to settle allegations that it mistreated members of the military -- including illegally repossessing their cars.
Wells Fargo said it will pay $4.1 million to settle Justice Department charges that it seized 413 cars owned by service members without a court order, a violation of federal law.
According to the Justice Department, the illegal repossessions took place from 2008 to 2015, with the first complaint coming from an Army National Guardsman in North Carolina who said the bank seized his car while he was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.
Wells Fargo then auctioned his car and tried to collect a balance of $10,000 from his family, the Justice Department said.
The bank will pay $10,000 to each of the affected service members, plus lost equity in the cars with interest, and repair their credit.
The bank was fined $20 million more by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for breaking three provisions of the same law by denying members of the military certain banking protections, including capping their interest rates at 6%. Those violations began in 2006, the OCC said in a statement.
Wells Fargo issued a statement saying it apologizes for not living up to its commitment of ensuring that all service members "receive the appropriate benefits and protections."
"We have been notifying and fully compensating customers and will complete this work in 60 days," the company said.