Wells Fargo class action alleges bank opened unauthorized accounts, reported false credit information

Update: 

• Wells Fargo asked a California federal judge to throw out an amended class action lawsuit involving fraudulently opened bank accounts. 
• The lawsuit accuses Wells Fargo of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by accessing the credit reports of unknowing consumers after fraudsters attempted to open accounts with their stolen information. 
• U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson previously dismissed a racketeering claim filed against Wells Fargo and fraud detection company Early Warning Services LLC in the original version of the complaint. 
• Early Warning filed a separate motion to throw out the amended class action lawsuit.

Wells Fargo class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Bernard Patterson filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank and Early Warning over a fraudulently created bank account scheme.
• Why: Wells Fargo allowed fraudulent bank accounts to be created and then combined with Early Warning to release sensitive customer banking history information, a class action claims.
• Where: The Wells Fargo bank account class action was filed in federal court in California.
• What are my options: Credit Karma offers banking options like checking and savings accounts.

Plaintiff Bernard Patterson filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank and Early Warning claiming that Wells Fargo allows fraudulent bank accounts to be created and then combines with Early Warning to release full banking details of real customers to those creating the fraudulent accounts.

“It literally includes the victims’ entire personal banking balance and transaction history for every legitimate bank account they maintain going back for years, as well as full account numbers, account open and close dates, and all of the detailed PII each of the victims’ banks associate with each account,” the lawsuit states. “It is everything necessary to steal a person’s financial identity and ultimately, it is everything necessary to steal everything the unwitting victims have in their legitimate bank accounts.”

Early Warning proceeded with its full credit check and banking history despite knowing of fraud, Wells Fargo class action claims

Early Warning knew that the account information on the fraudulent Wells Fargo accounts didn’t match information on the real customers’ other accounts but still verified the victims’ identities on those accounts, the Wells Fargo class action claims.

The fraudulent accounts were then used to transfer money and obtain the remaining bank account information from real customers through the Early Warning credit check, the lawsuit claims. By allowing the scheme to continue, Wells Fargo and Early Warning both benefited from the fraud, the Wells Fargo accounts lawsuit claims.

Wells Fargo recently was ordered to pay $3.7 billion in compensation and penalties for charging illegal fees and interest on auto and mortgage loans by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Has someone ever created a fraudulent bank account in your name? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Abbas Kazerounian of Kazerouni Law Group and Theodore O. Bartholow, III of Kellett and Bartholow PLLC.

The Wells Fargo class action lawsuit is Patterson v. Wells Fargo and Co., et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-03858, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division.

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