The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Tuesday finalized penalties against three former Wells Fargo executives, ordering them to pay a total of $18.5 million for their involvement in the bank’s infamous fake accounts scandal. The fines mark the end of long-running enforcement proceedings against the former executives, who are accused of failing to prevent or address misconduct tied to aggressive sales practices at Wells Fargo.
Michael Hsu, the OCC’s acting comptroller, issued final decisions that impose significant penalties on the three former executives: Claudia Russ Anderson, former senior risk officer for Wells Fargo’s retail banking division; David Julian, the bank’s former chief auditor; and Paul McLinko, who served as executive audit director.
Russ Anderson received the largest fine, totaling $10 million, while Julian was fined $7 million, and McLinko was penalized $1.5 million. In addition to her fine, Anderson was also banned from working in the banking industry. These penalties conclude an ongoing saga of investigations into Wells Fargo’s fraudulent account practices, which spanned from 2013 to 2016.
