Sen. Bob Menendez continued his calls for greater accountability after Wells Fargo was fined $185 million for allegedly illegally opening unauthorized accounts for its customers.
The fines came from a combination of California and federal regulators who alleged that the practice was being used to meet aggressive sales goals. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined the bank $100 million of the total, marking the largest fine levied against a financial institution by the agency since its creation five years ago. California authorities accounted for the rest.
Sen. Menendez was joined at a Teaneck news conference on Friday by a New Jersey mother who said her family was victimized by the bank's practices. She claimed the bank opened up fraudulent accounts in her daughter's name.
"We need the truth of how one of the largest banks in the country can ultimately conduct themselves in a way, have no safeguards, have 5,300 employees that affect so many citizens," Sen. Menendez says.
More than 2,600 customers have been refunded a total of $70,000 in the wake of the scandal.