Wells Fargo’s Fed Reserve Fraud Was Against U.S., Brief Says

Claims that Wells Fargo & Co. defrauded the government by falsely certifying compliance with various laws and regulations while taking low-rate loans from the Federal Reserve should be revived, whistleblowers told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Whistleblowers Robert Kraus and Paul Bishop said a district court erred in determining that Federal Reserve banks don’t qualify as government agencies. A valid false claim must allege that a defendant presented a false claim to the government.

In assessing whether the Federal Reserve banks are government agencies, the Second Circuit should examine whether a fraud might result in financial ...