Page 18 - IAV Digital Magazine #425

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Wells Fargo Exec Was Fired For Not ScammingN.J. Customers, Lawsuit Says
By Craig McCarthy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEW BRUNSWICK -- A Somerset County woman is suing Wells Fargo Bank alleging she was fired for refusing to participate in an alleged scheme sim- ilar to the bank's widespread account scam that led to millions of dol- lars in federal fines.
Melinda Bini, a for- mer assistant vice president and regional private banker at the Highland Park bank's branch, says in a recent lawsuit that supervisors instructed her to manipulate accounts and sell banking products or invest- ments that were not the customers' best interest or without their knowledge.
The lawsuit, filed in Middlesex County Superior Court on April 5, names Wells Fargo and three local bank supervi- sors.
The Franklin Park woman accuses her former superiors in the suit of running or knowing about alleged banking and investment fraud scheme at the local branch.
A spokesman for
Wells Fargo, Kevin Friedlander, said the three supervisors named in the lawsuit are still employed by the bank, but did not comment on the allegations.
"Since this is an ongoing legal mat- ter, we are unable to comment any further on the lawsuit," Friedlander said in an emailed statement.
Bini, who is a licensed financial advisor hired by the bank in 2002, refused to participate the "unlawful and uneth- ical banking" and was harassed in retaliation, according to the suit.
In April 2016, Bini was fired, a move she said was manu- factured by her supervisors for not joining the alleged scheme, according to the suit.
"Wells Fargo does not tolerate retalia- tion against team members who report their concerns," Friedlander said. "Our non-retaliation policy makes clear that no team mem- ber may be retaliat- ed against for pro- viding information about suspected unethical or illegal activities or possible violations of any Wells Fargo poli- cies."
Wells Fargo, the second-largest banking institution in New Jersey, was fined $100 million in September 2016 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for using fake emails to sign up current cus- tomers for additional accounts without their consent.
The bank eventually fired more than 5,000 employees for enrolling customers illegally as a way to meet their sales quotas.
The lawsuit seeks Bini's reinstatement at the bank and damages.
“SEdUCTIVE” CONTINUATION FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
answer or return any calls of my student’s mother. This situation led to the inevitable decision to withdraw her from the tourna- ment altogether," said Kaushal.
"This incident has resulted in loss of time and money which was invested before, during and after the tournament on coaching, registra- tion fees, traveling, accommodation and other incurred costs," he added.
Kaushal said his stu- dent "is a bright young girl" who has shown "tremendous potential in
chess." But the inci- dent has left her "extremely disturbed, and embarrassed," he added.
"I have been playing chess in Malaysia for almost two decades and I have never heard of this type of issue ever in any tournaments in Malaysia," he said.
Kaushal is asking for a public apology from the tournament direc- tor of the champi- onship.
A photo of the girl's dress that was shared by Kaushal showed the girl wearing a short sleeved black and orange striped dress that stops just above her knees.
The tournament direc- tor told The Star that the matter is being investigated. He declined to comment further.
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