Ex-Wells Fargo exec fined $17M for role in fake accounts scandal

The OCC’s order found Carrie Tolstedt “significantly responsible for the systemic sales practices misconduct at the bank” and that the bank’s business model “imposed unreasonable sales goals on its employees, along with unreasonable pressure to meet such goals.”

Tolstedt agreed to pay the fine Jan. 19, but OCC Senior Deputy Comptroller Gregory Coleman didn’t sign off on the order until March 9. The OCC published the order in a press release Wednesday.

In addition to the fine, Tolstedt was banned from the banking industry by the agency. She did not admit or deny the OCC’s findings.

Tolstedt was originally notified by the OCC in January 2020 she faced a $25 million penalty for her role in the fake accounts scandal. The agency did not acknowledge why the fine total was reduced.

Wells Fargo declined to comment.

Tolstedt is the latest in a long line of former Wells Fargo executives penalized by the OCC and other regulators for their roles in the scandal.

Former Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf paid a $17.5 million fine to the OCC in January 2020 and was similarly barred from the banking industry. He was later penalized $2.5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2020 for misleading investors.

Also in January 2020, Hope Hardison, the bank’s former chief administrative officer and director of corporate human resources, and Michael Loughlin, former chief risk officer, agreed to pay $2.25 million and $1.25 million penalties, respectively.

Former General Counsel James Strother paid a $3.5 million fine to the OCC in January 2021, and three other former executives paid a combined total of $1.675 million in fines to the OCC in September 2020.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion in February 2020 as part of settlements with the Department of Justice and SEC regarding the scandal.