Wachovia Fined Millions for 'Unsound Practices'
Treasury Dept. Orders Wachovia to Pay More Than $140 Million
Wachovia Bank will pay tens of millions of dollars for having "engaged in unsafe or unsound practices" in connection with telemarketing fraudsters, the U.S. Treasury announced Friday.
Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the bank agreed to pay as much as $125 million in restitution to consumers who were harmed by scams perpetrated by five firms and have not already been reimbursed, the Treasury announcement said. Wachovia will also pay nearly $9 million for consumer education programs and a $10 million civil penalty to the Treasury Department.
Treasury said it believed that thousands of consumers, many of whom were elderly, were harmed by the millions of dollars in fraudulent transactions telemarketing scammers processed through Wachovia.
