NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2018 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo & Company ("Wells Fargo" or the "Company") (NYSE: WFC) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 18-cv-01318, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Wells Fargo securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Wells Fargo securities between January 13, 2017, and July 27, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until April 16, 2018, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
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Wells Fargo is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, leasing, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Company operates through physical stores, the internet, and other distribution channels worldwide.
On September 8, 2016, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a Consent Order with a Stipulation to its entry signed by Mary Mack, Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, detailing fraudulent practices at the Company, which were centered on a corporate culture intent on growing its cross-selling opportunities and unlawfully and without its customers' consent opening millions of unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts, and imposing a fine of more than $185 million.
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Wells Fargo had charged more than 800,000 customers for unneeded auto insurance, the expense of which pushed approximately 274,000 Wells Fargo customers into delinquency and resulted in almost 25,000 vehicle repossessions; (ii) the foregoing conduct, when it came to light, would foreseeably subject Wells Fargo to heightened regulatory scrutiny and/or enforcement actions; and (iii) as a result, Wells Fargo's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On July 27, 2017, post-market, The New York Times published an article entitled "Wells Fargo Forced Unwanted Auto Insurance on Borrowers." Citing an internal report prepared for Wells Fargo's executives, the article reported that "[m]ore than 800,000 people who took out car loans from Wells Fargo were charged for auto insurance they did not need," that "[t]he expense of the unneeded insurance . . . pushed roughly 274,000 Wells Fargo customers into delinquency and resulted in almost 25,000 wrongful vehicle repossessions," and "that the bank owed $73 million to wronged customers."
Following publication of this article, Wells Fargo's share price fell $1.41, or 2.58%, to close at $53.30 on July 28, 2017.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.
SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
