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Wells Fargo Pays Out $575 Million in Fake-Account Scandal

After the bank acknowledged that its employees opened up to 3.5 million fake bank and credit-card accounts.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $575 million in a settlement with all 50 states and the District of Columbia Friday, in an effort to resolve the fake account scandal that has plagued the banking titan in recent years. CNN reports that the bank faced widespread condemnation after acknowledging that employees had created up to 3.5 million fraudulent bank and credit-card accounts without consumers’ consent, in what the New York Daily News described as an attempt to meet sales goals. The settlement covers civil suits brought by state attorneys general. CNN notes that this is far from the only scandal Wells Fargo has weathered. In April, the company was fined $1 billion for pushing consumers into buying car insurance and charging unfair fees. In May, it paid out $480 million to settle a securities fraud lawsuit. In the settlement, the bank agreed to create new teams to ensure that its history won’t repeat. “This agreement underscores our serious commitment to making things right in regard to past issues as we work to build a better bank,” CEO Tim Sloan said in a press release.