SAN FRANCISCO–New allegations in the Wells Fargo account-opening scandal allege that the bank would “round up” immigrants in the country, push them into branch offices and cajole them into opening accounts, according to new court filings.
In a series of sworn statements filed as part of a lawsuit, Wells Fargo employees from multiple states say they were ordered to target undocumented workers at construction sites, factories, and a 7-Eleven. The allegations are part of litigation surrounding the opening of more than two-million bogus accounts by the bank as employees scrambled to meet aggressive product sales goals. The bank has paid more than $185-million in fines to date, fired its two top executives, withheld compensation from those executives and further sought to claw back pay, and faced numerous lawsuits as a result of the scandal that has resulted in the firing of more than 5,000 employees.
According to the latest court filings by Julia Miller, a former Wells Fargo branch manager in Pennsylvania, one branch even allegedly put into place a program called "Hit the Streets Thursday," where upper management ordered Latino employees to patrol streets and a local Social Security office to force passersby into branches to open unauthorized accounts,
Another former employee, teller Denny Russo who worked at a Wells Fargo branch in Petaluma, Calif., said he had a similar experience.
"When foot traffic was slow, the branch manager on duty instructed Wells Fargo employees of Hispanic heritage to go to a nearby 7-Eleven at 430 Washington St. in Petaluma, a known congregating point for undocumented day laborers," Russo said in his sworn statement. "Employees were instructed to 'round up' a group of undocumented workers and drive them back to the Wells Fargo branch to open up checking and savings accounts in exchange for 'waiving' check-cashing fees that the day laborers would otherwise have to pay.”
Russo further alleged that in many cases, the bank's employees would also then open up additional accounts such as credit cards, which the customers had not requested — and which generated sales commission for Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo has denied the allegations.