OCC Ends Final Wells Fargo Fake-Accounts Case Without a Fine

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has settled its last remaining enforcement action tied to Wells Fargo’s 2016 fake-accounts scandal without imposing a fine, Banking Dive reported.

The resolution concerns Claudia Russ Anderson, the bank’s former group risk officer, who will face no additional monetary penalty. While dropping the fine, the regulator said Russ Anderson remains restricted from working in the banking industry and that “millions of dollars of her compensation were clawed back,” the news outlet said.

The OCC had previously sought a $10-million civil penalty and a lifetime industry ban, alleging Russ Anderson failed to credibly challenge the bank’s sales-incentive program and, between 2013 and 2016, encouraged staff to open accounts without customers’ knowledge.

The settlement closes a chapter that has already seen more than $43 million in civil penalties and lifetime bans for former top executives, including ex-CEO John Stumpf and former community-banking chief Carrie Tolstedt.

Tolstedt, the only executive to receive criminal punishment connected to the scheme, was sentenced in 2023 to six months of home confinement and three years of probation, Banking Dive said.