Catching the last stage? Wells Fargo to pay $148M!
Today, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $148 million to a number of federal authorities to settle the charges that Wachovia Securities, which Wells Fargo purchased in 2008, was involved in bid rigging and other illegal practices with regard to the municipal bond market. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gets $46 million from Wells Fargo under the agreement, and a total of another $102 million go to the Justice Department, the office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Internal Revenue Service and 26 state attorneys general.
Maybe Black Bart, who robbed ONLY Wells Fargo stagecoaches (and not their passengers), had it right! I saw the jail, constructed with wooden bars, in San Andreas, California, where Black Bart was held after his capture.
Authorities said Wachovia fraudulently rigged at least 58 municipal bond reinvestment transactions in 25 states and Puerto Rico over an eight year period from 1997 through 2005. They say Wachovia won some bids through a practice known as “last looks” in which it obtained information from the bidding agents about competing bids.
“Wachovia won bids by playing an elaborate game of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,’ rather than engaging in legitimate competition to win municipalities’ business.” said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, in a statement Thursday.
Wells Fargo’s attorneys, in signing the settlement agreements, neither ADMITTED nor DENIED wrongdoing in the case.
“Wells Fargo is pleased to have fully resolved this investigation of Wachovia Bank,” said the bank’s statement. The bank said the employees involved in the illegal activity are no longer with the company.
Civil litigation resulted in a previous settlement of $37 million from Wells Fargo.
In total, agreement of $673 million have been reached in the SEC investigation of corruption in the municipal bond industry. Earlier settlements included $228 million from JPMorgan Chase, $160 million from UBS, and $137 million from Bank of America.
-Bill at
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