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Former Wells Fargo employees sue for mistreatment, fraudulent job requirements

CEO John Stumpf and another executive could be forced to return tens of millions of dollars in compensation because of the bank's fraudulent practices.

By Stephen Feller

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- With a class action suit already filed in federal court on behalf of customers defrauded by Wells Fargo, more is coming for the bank as former employees are expected to file a class action against the company for mistreatment amid quotas tied to fraudulent banking practices.

Two former employees filed the class action suit in federal court Thursday, asking for $2.6 billion for workers who tried to meet excessive sales goals without fraudulently opening new accounts for unwitting customers and later lost their jobs.

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Speculation is also building as to whether embattled Wells Fargo Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf and former executive Carrie Tolstedt will have to return tens of millions of dollars in compensation they received. Tolstedt was in charge of the bank's unit that created nearly two million fake accounts without telling customers.

Wells Fargo was fined $185 million earlier this month for opening accounts and applying for credit cards on behalf of its customers without their knowledge.

"Wells Fargo fired or demoted employees who failed to meet unrealistic quotas while at the same time providing promotions to employees who met these quotas by opening fraudulent accounts," former Wells Fargo employees Alexander Polonsky and Brian Zaghi claim in the lawsuit filed in California superior court on behalf of employees punished for not meeting quotas.

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The bank has fired about 5,300 employees for opening nearly two million accounts in customers names to meet sales quotas of 10 accounts per day, with managers closely monitoring sales reports.

Stumpf was chewed out by members of Congress last week for the practice, with Senator Elizabeth Warren suggesting he should resign, or at least give back some of the money Wells Fargo paid him while the fraudulent activity was going on.

"This is about accountability," Warren said during the Sept. 20 hearing. "You should resign. You should give back the money that you took while this scam was going on, and you should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This just isn't right."

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