Wells Fargo Unauthorized Accounts Class Action Settlement $142 Million Details Revealed

The high pressure work environment experienced by corporate bankers made headlines recently, with the settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo.

Primary plaintiff Shahriar Jabbari filed the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit in May of 2015. Jabbari claimed Wells Fargo created a professional culture that forced employees to achieve unreasonable sales goals. The pressure became intense enough for several employees to open fake accounts in the names of customers who did business with the bank at the time. Wells Fargo employees apparently took money out of customer accounts to pay the fees charged on the new unauthorized accounts. Jabbari asserted in the class action lawsuit that some customers ran up debts that required the intervention of collection agencies.

Both parties reached the class action settlement in March of 2012. Terms of the class action settlement require Wells Fargo to set up a fund worth $142 million. One month after the initial agreement, a judge verified the class action settlement fund grew to provide more compensation for additional class members. The settlement fund distributes to eligible class members and Jabbari as an incentive award for filing the class action lawsuit. Money also goes towards paying court costs and attorney fees.

What You Need To Know About The Wells Fargo Unauthorized Accounts Class Action Settlement

Eligible class members of the Wells Fargo class action settlement “include all persons for whom Wells Fargo or its current or former subsidiaries or agents opened an unauthorized account or submitted an unauthorized application, or who obtained identity protection services from Wells Fargo from May 1, 2002 through April 20, 2017.” Class members have until December 5, 2017 to opt out of the class action settlement or dispute any provisions of the agreement. The potential award varies, with compensation covering account fees and the costs for cleaning up credit reports, along with distributions from the class action settlement fund. According to court documents, “for unauthorized accounts opened between May 1, 2002 and Dec. 31, 2008, class members can receive a flat amount that will be equal to the average reimbursement issued for unauthorized accounts opened between Jan. 1, 2009 and April 20, 2017.”

Qualifying class members must submit a valid claim form by February 3, 2018. The judge presiding over the class action settlement case Jabbari, et al. v. Wells Fargo & Co., et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-02159, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has scheduled the final hearing on January 4, 2018. Learn what transpired at the final hearing by visiting the class action settlement website www.WFsettlement.com. The class action settlement website presents the list of attorneys who represent the class and defense counsels, as well as updates about the potential settlement award and other forms of compensation.