Wells Fargo Sham Accounts Cost Bank Another $142 Million

The Wells Fargo sham accounts scandal just cost the bank another $142 million after a San Francisco judge ruled a proposed class action settlement is "fair, reasonable and adequate," reported the Los Angeles Times.

The fake account scandal first started dominating banking news several years ago when law firm Keller Rohrback filed a class action suit after customers accused Wells Fargo of opening unauthorized accounts in their names.

Bank employees reportedly created millions of bank and credit card accounts without consent in order to generate money and meet internal goals under considerable pressure.

Initially, the bank agreed to pay a $110-million class-wide settlement two years after Keller Rohrback initially filed it's complaint

"The settlement requires Wells Fargo to repay the fees charged to class members by Wells Fargo for unauthorized accounts, and provide millions of dollars of additional monetary relief to the class," said Derek Loeser, a partner at the law firm. "We believe this is an outstanding result obtained for the benefit of a proposed nationwide class, notwithstanding Wells Fargo’s effort to block the class action with an arbitration clause.”

In April, the bank agreed to pay out an additional $32 million to customers affected by the scandal.

Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan told Reuters he was "pleased" that the preliminary settlement had been approved.

U.S District Judge Vince Chhabria will have the final say on the deal but, if approved, it could see the bank close a number of other claims that arose from the lawsuit.

Wells Fargo is expected to send out notices on the claim process to all customers affected by the scandal.

• Wells Fargo Whistleblower Wins $5.4M Payout and His Job Back
• Wells Fargo: 400-Branch Closing Unrelated to Fake-Account Scam