DiCello Levitt & Casey Announces New Lawsuit Accusing Wells Fargo of Massive Fraud in Auto Insurance Scheme
August 02 2017 - 3:05PM
Business Wire
Embattled bank fraudulently issued and charged
customers for auto insurance policies they did not want or need
When Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) executives testified on Capitol
Hill last September, they apologized for the more than 2 million
fake accounts the bank created in customers’ names, but denied that
it was a case of large-scale fraud orchestrated by management. But
according to a lawsuit filed this week on a matter unrelated to the
“fake accounts scandal,” such fraudulent behavior appears to be
rampant throughout the company. A federal class action case filed
this week by DiCello Levitt & Casey against Wells Fargo and
National General Insurance Company claims the defendants conspired
to bill more than 800,000 Wells Fargo borrowers for auto insurance
they neither requested nor needed. According to the complaint,
Wells Fargo sent auto financing customers’ information to National
General, which tacked its own additional collateral protection
insurance onto the loan, generating hundreds of millions of dollars
in fraudulent profits for the companies.
Once customers complained, word of the scheme spread, and an
investigative story was published in The New York Times, Wells
Fargo admitted to the fraud, saying it would accept “full
responsibility” for its actions. Last week the bank announced that
it would “refund” approximately $80 million to 570,000 customers
who were wrongly charged for auto insurance, including 20,000
people whose vehicles were repossessed. This purported refund falls
far short of the actual damages suffered by consumers throughout
the nation resulting from defendants’ scheme.
“As has apparently become par for the course for Wells Fargo, it
accepted ‘full responsibility’ and admitted to the fraud, but only
after it was caught and outed by an investigative piece in The New
York Times,” said Adam Levitt of law firm DiCello Levitt &
Casey, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the wronged Wells Fargo
customers. Levitt is also lead counsel in In re Wells Fargo ERISA
401(k) Litigation, 16-3405 (D. Minn.), representing Wells Fargo’s
retirement plan participants in a class action lawsuit against
Wells Fargo related to significant plan losses in connection with
the fake accounts scandal.
Levitt continued: “While Wells Fargo has now said that it will
issue refunds to its customers, that is just the tip of the iceberg
and does little to address the real damage its fraud has already
done. This includes those who had their vehicles repossessed, had
their credit scores damaged, endured inflated insurance premiums,
and incurred late fees. And that doesn’t even cover the financial
and emotional stress that Wells Fargo and National inflicted on
unsuspecting customers, all to put a few more dollars into its own
pockets. National General, for its part, has remained quiet for the
last ten years, apparently content to enjoy the spoils of its
coordinated scheme with Wells Fargo to steal money from
unsuspecting Wells Fargo customers and National General
insureds.”
According to the lawsuit, in July 2016, Wells Fargo retained a
consultant to determine the scope of the fraud. The results were
staggering, finding that from 2012 through 2016:
- More than 800,000 consumers were
charged and paid for auto insurance they didn’t need;
- Some of those consumers are still
paying;
- The illegal scheme pushed 274,000
consumers into delinquency;
- 25,000 consumers suffered the wrongful
repossession of their vehicle, and the devastating costs and
consequences of that action;
- In many instances, consumers were never
informed of the insurance before it was issued, charged and
deducted from their bank accounts;
- Wells Fargo received myriad complaints
from consumers regarding the unneeded and unwanted insurance, but
continued harassing them for payment.
Wells Fargo customers who believe they may have been victimized
by this fraud should visit (https://wellsfargoinsurancelawsuit.com)
or call 888-778-8880 to determine their legal rights and learn more
about the case.
The case is Katherine Jacob v. National General Insurance
Company and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 17-cv-05806 in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York. A copy of the
complaint is available on request.
About DiCello Levitt & Casey
DiCello Levitt & Casey is a different kind of law firm – one
that combines excellence in commercial litigation, class action
litigation, mass tort litigation, catastrophic injury litigation,
medical malpractice litigation, and civil rights litigation.
Practicing nationwide – and internationally – from offices in
Chicago and Cleveland, we are an aggressive, attentive, and
creative plaintiffs’ firm whose work speaks for itself – billions
of dollars in recoveries in some of the highest-profile matters in
U.S. history. Revered by clients and respected by defense counsel,
our team gets results.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170802006277/en/
Baretz + BrunelleJason Milch,
312-379-9406jmilch@baretzbrunelle.com
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024