A clueless organization?

This new column will analyze the big frauds that all of us see in the media but don't always have time to ponder how they relate to our jobs.  — ed.

As reported in the media on September 9, Wells Fargo negotiated a deal to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of Comptroller of Currency, and the City and County of Los Angeles. As part of the $185 million settlement Wells Fargo didn't admit to any wrongdoing. However, it did confirm to the regulators and media that employees had opened more than two million checking, savings and credit card accounts without customer approval. Apparently this was done to meet "cross-selling" quotas for five years beginning in 2011.

I first read about this settlement on the morning of September 9 during a BART ride into San Francisco. I was on my way to our San Francisco ACFE Chapter Fall Fraud Conference, which coincidentally was being held at the Wells Fargo Penthouse conference center, one floor above the C-suite offices at WF Headquarters. Attending the conference were 75 ACFE members eager to learn about building resilience into a fraud risk management program.