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ABSTRACT
This article is about breach of trust, deception on a grand scale, and pervasive fraudulent activity within one large financial historical banking institution named Wells Fargo. This article will explore the causes of how millions of bogus accounts were created and gone undetected for such a long time period. In addition to the numerous individuals involved in creating fictitious accounts other departments within Wells Fargo such as Insurance, Home Mortgage, and Auto Loan were either overcharging or violating banking protocols, rules and regulations regarding customers ' accounts, investments and loans.
The journey will start with one reporting writing an expose of Wells Fargo which was followed by denials by management and then directing blame toward a few bad employees. Management failed to investigate, ignored statements from whistleblowers, and were uncooperative with state and federal regulators. If ever there was a case study for what not to do when a company is faced with state and federal investigators, Wells Fargo provide ample evidence of neglect in management under crisis.
The paper will close with some thoughts and suggestions as to what can be done before another company has to face their Wells Fargo moment. Ben Franklin once wrote: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In todays ' corporate environment, a few red flags examined could have saved billions in dollars.
Introduction
Wells Fargo & Company1 was borne out of the need for transporting and banking services during the California Gold Rush in the early 1850s. Henry Wells and William Fargo, two New York City based visionaries, combined their business talents by creating a company that would bear their names to provide a transcontinental transportation system using a six-horse stagecoach as the vehicle to transport people, business documents, mail, and gold. Wells Fargo & Company also served as a bank - buying gold dust, selling paper bank drafts and providing loans to help fuel California's goal rush based economy.
In the boom-and-bust period during the 1850s, the company earned a reputation as a trustworthy and reliable business, and its logo the secured stagecoach powered by six sturdy horses further enhanced the image of dependability. Wells Fargo's current web page states "Our Stagecoaches are living symbols of the company's heritage of service,...