Wells Fargo agrees to $3 billion settlement over fake accounts

The bank has agreed to admit wrongdoing as part of the deal.

February 21, 2020 | ABC News The U.S. Department of Justice and Wells Fargo have agreed to a $3 billion settlement that includes the bank admitting to opening millions of fake accounts.

A criminal investigation into the company's actions found that from 2002 to 2016 Wells Fargo pressured employees to meet unrealistic sales goals, which led to millions of accounts being created by "thousands" of employees without consent from customers, a DOJ official told reporters on Friday.

"This settlement holds Wells Fargo accountable for tolerating fraudulent conduct that is remarkable both for its duration and scope, and for its blatant disregard of customer's private information," Michael Granston, deputy assistant attorney general for the DOJ's civil division, said in a statement. Read more here.