Wells Fargo Is Accused of Harming Fraud Victims by Closing Accounts<br />Jim Seitz, a Wells Fargo spokesman, said, “We take seriously the concerns of current<br />and former team members and investigate them thoroughly, and we are reviewing the legal complaint that was filed this afternoon.”<br />Mr. Valles’s claims, combined with dozens of customer complaints to a federal regulator currently investigating<br />the bank’s handling of fraud investigations, add to a pile of problems for Wells Fargo.<br />“Improperly closing customer accounts in this manner ensured<br />that customers, not Wells Fargo, were left to absorb the costs of fraudulent activities and unauthorized withdrawals from their checking and savings accounts,” Mr. Valles’s complaint said.<br />Wells Fargo disclosed in August that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was looking into whether customers had been harmed by the bank’s practice of freezing<br />and often closing accounts after it or its customers detected signs of fraud.<br />Many Wells Fargo customers, however, have complained<br />that the bank was too quick to freeze or close accounts after signs of fraud — even if they themselves reported the suspicious activity.
