‘ZERO TOLERANCE’

Prudential Fires SoCal Man Accused of Telling Korean-American ‘Go Back to Wuhan’

Prudential announced Tuesday it had fired James Hilbrant after he allegedly told a 28-year-old Korean American to “go back to Wuhan” in Newport Beach.

Prudential has fired James Hilbrant, one of its financial representatives, after he allegedly made racist and xenophobic comments towards a Korean-American woman in Newport Beach, California, in a viral video. According to social-media influencer Sophia Chang, Hilbrant told Chang and her sister to “go back to Wuhan” after making direct eye contact while they dined at a restaurant on Sept 12. When they questioned him, he responded, “I don’t speak Chinese.” After the incident drew significant attention online, the man was identified as Hilbrant. Prudential released a statement via Twitter claiming it had “zero tolerance” for discrimination and that it would investigate the matter. On Tuesday, the company released a follow up statement that it had fired Hilbrant. “I will never forget that moment and it replays over and over in my head,” Chang later wrote to her followers on social media.