Wells Fargo Accounts Settlement in Question as Victims Swell

Wells Fargo & Co.’s disclosure Aug. 31 that employees may have opened significantly more unauthorized accounts than previously stated could jeopardize a $142 million class-action settlement with customers that won preliminary approval from a judge in July (Jabbari v. Wells Fargo & Co., N.D. Cal., 15-cv-02159, preliminary approval 7/8/17).

The scandal that helped hasten the lawsuit came to light almost a year ago, after regulators slapped Wells Fargo with fines of $185 million over its sales practices. Afterward, lawmakers called congressional hearings, and the bank named new leaders, clawed back executives’ pay and began an overhaul of its ...