Lawsuit filed Against Wells Fargo
NAVAJO TIMES | ADRON GARDNER The Wells Fargo Bank in Window Rock is a busy place most weekdays.
GALLUP
The Navajo Nation has filed a lawsuit in federal court here against Wells Fargo Bank for engaging in predatory and unlawful practices that targeted and harmed the Navajo people, especially the elderly.
In the 59-page lawsuit, attorneys for the tribe said the Nation entrusted the bank with “their finances and personal information.”
“In return, Wells Fargo preyed on members of the Navajo Nation, including Navajo elders, who are some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” the lawsuit states.
The bank did so for a singular focus, the lawsuit added. “It would exploit the trust of the Navajo people who chose to bank with Wells Fargo to advance (the bank’s) profit interests,” the lawsuit stated.
This lawsuit is similar to hundreds that have been filed against the bank in recent years after it was revealed that its employees created unwanted accounts for its customers in order to gain bonuses for bringing in new accounts.
“Under intense pressure from superiors to grow sales figures, Wells Fargo employees lied to Navajo consumers, telling elderly Navajo citizens who did not speak English that in order to have their checks cashed they needed to sign up for savings accounts they neither needed nor understood,” the lawsuit states.
It also claims that employees of the bank would stalk local events like basketball games and flea markets to sign up consumers for unnecessary accounts en masse, especially targeting Navajo women who sold arts and crafts and other products.
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