Ex-Wells Fargo CEO referred to DOJ for alleged false statements to Congress

House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters asks feds to take 'appropriate' action

House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters referred former Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan to the Department of Justice, claiming that Sloan made false statements to Congress in testimony last year.

Waters asked the DOJ to review Sloan's March 2019 testimony and take "appropriate" action. At the time, he testified that the bank was in compliance with consent orders with the government in the wake of a sales scandal.

Sloan stepped down from his post and retired last June.

Chair Elizabeth Duke and board member James Quigley both resigned effective Sunday after a congressional report, released last week, accused Wells Fargo of not living up to the terms of settlements in its sales scandal.

The bank has admitted that unrealistic sales goals led to millions of accounts being opened without customers' knowledge or under false pretenses.

Newly instated CEO Charles Scharf on Tuesday blamed the company's alleged consumer abuses on a "broken" culture and acknowledged the bank needs to do more to address its shortcomings.

Duke and Quigley said they worked to change the bank's culture and processes once they learned about consumers being taken advantage of.

"We believe that our decision will facilitate the bank's and the new CEO's ability to turn the page and avoid distraction that could impede the bank's future progress," Duke and Quigley said in a statement.

Former Bank of America chief financial officer Charles Noski was named the new board chair.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/ex-wells-fargo-ceo-doj-referral