WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.–The Navajo Nation has filed suit against Wells Fargo over its now-exposed practice of opening bogus accounts as employees struggled to meet aggressive cross sales goals.
In its suit, the Navajo Nation is alleging "predatory sales tactics” by the only national bank that services its territory. The suit says Wells Fargo preyed on members of the Navajo Nation by opening unauthorized bank accounts and debit cards, and by pressuring people, particularly the elderly, to enroll in services they did not need.
"Under intense pressure from superiors to grow sales figures, Wells Fargo employees lied to Navajo consumers, telling elderly Navajo citizens who did not speak English that in order to have their checks cashed, they needed to sign up for savings accounts they neither needed nor understood," the Navajo Nation states in its complaint.
The complaint goes on to allege that representatives of Wells Fargo "stalked local events like basketball games and flea markets" to sign up as many customers as possible for "unnecessary accounts.”
The "unlawful sales practices" are said to have been employed between 2009 and 2016, according to the suit. The Navajo Nation includes portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
As CUToday.info has reported, Wells Fargo has already been fined more than $185 million for its account opening scam that involved more than three-million accounts and led to the firing of 5,300 workers. Wells Fargo has also faced lawsuits and charges over charging mortgage borrowers inappropriate fees, for charging auto loan borrowers for insurance they didn’t need, for over-charging small business owners on card fees, and for signing up people in California for insurance policies they didn’t want.