Former Wells Fargo Employee Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison
January 12 2017 - 11:24PM
Dow Jones News
By Emily Glazer
A former Wells Fargo & Co. employee who organized a bank
fraud scheme to steal customer-account data was sentenced to more
than seven years in prison on Thursday, according to the U.S.
Attorney's Office in the Central District of California.
In addition to the prison term, Ronald Charles Reed of
Inglewood, Calif., must pay nearly $600,000 in restitution to the
bank, which has been in the spotlight for a sales-practices scandal
for months.
In September, the San Francisco bank paid a $185 million fine
for opening as many as 2.1 million accounts using fictitious or
unauthorized customer information.
Mr. Reed pleaded guilty in March to bank fraud and aggravated
identity theft, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Mr. Reed, also known as Disco Ronnie, admitted working with
former Wells Fargo employees and runners to impersonate customers
by stealing their dates of birth, account numbers, driver's license
numbers and Social Security numbers. The other bank employees who
worked with Mr. Reed have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting
sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said the bank's commitment to keeping
customers' information and assets safe remains a priority and the
bank "will continue to cooperate with authorities to ensure
violators are brought to justice."
Wells Fargo fired about 5,300 employees over the past roughly
five years due to improper sales tactics. It reports fourth-quarter
earnings on Friday.
Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2017 23:09 ET (04:09 GMT)
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