The Settlement resolves a lawsuit over whether those responsible for selecting and monitoring the Challenged Funds complied with their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The Court in charge of this case still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement.
Full Answer
What is the Wells Fargo lawsuit about?
The lawsuit alleges that Wells Fargo used deceptive and fraudulent tactics to rob customers of their money. The company has since agreed to reimburse some of the victims and has agreed to settle the remaining claims. In the meantime, it continues to fight for fair compensation, so you should consider filing a suit today.
What happened to Brian Wells?
Erie Federal Courthouse/Erie Bureau of Police via WiredSecurity camera footage of Brian Wells walking toward the bank’s exit, bomb strapped around his neck, just after the robbery. On August 28, 2003 in Erie, Pennsylvania, Brian Wells’ pizza delivery went horribly wrong when it ended with him dying thanks to a bomb locked around his neck.
What does the Wells Fargo settlement mean for the banking industry?
This settlement, which requires Wells Fargo to make its customers whole for their losses and pay a substantial penalty, sends a strong message to the banking industry that financial institutions who take advantage of their customers will be held to account.” As alleged in the Government’s complaint:
Why did they kill Frank Wells?
It was believed Wells was killed to reduce the number of witnesses. Family and friends of Wells dispute his involvement in the bank robbery and his own death; according to them, Wells was accosted at gunpoint and forced to wear the bomb.
How much money did Brian Wells get?
Upon entering the bank around 2:30 p.m., Wells slid the note to a teller. The note stated the bomb would explode in fifteen minutes and that the full amount must be handed over within that time. The teller was unable to access the vault that quickly and gave Wells a bag containing $8,702, with which he exited the bank.
Who was involved with Brian Wells?
In a July 2007 indictment, federal prosecutors said that Wells had been involved in the planning of the botched bank robbery. Two of his alleged co-conspirators, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes, were indicted. In 2008, U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin sentenced Barnes to 45 years in federal prison.
Who was responsible for pizza bomber?
Outside of mental illness she had two components that would make her dangerous, she was extremely intelligent and manipulative. “Marjorie gets credit as the mastermind, but Bill Rothstein was the one who put this all together,” said Clark.
Who was Ken Barnes?
One of the co-conspirators who was serving time for his role in the 2003 pizza collar bomb heist that claimed the life of Brian Wells has died. Kenneth Barnes, 65, passed away Thursday at the Federal Medical Center at Butner, North Carolina.
What happened to Wells?
Following an attempt to rob a PNC Bank, and while surrounded by police, Wells was murdered when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated. It is known as the "collar bomb" or "pizza bomber" case. The incident was shown live on television. Wells' involvement in the plot is a matter of controversy.
Where is Brian Wells from?
Brian Wells was born in Warren, Pennsylvania to Rose and Harold Wells, the latter of whom was a Korean War veteran. In 1973, when Wells was a 16-year-old sophomore, he dropped out of Erie's East High School and went to work as a mechanic.
What happened to James Roden?
On September 20, 2003, Rothstein, who lived near the television tower, called police to inform them the body of a man, James Roden, was hidden in a freezer in a garage at his house. After he telephoned police, Rothstein wrote a suicide note indicating his planned death had nothing to do with Wells.
Why did Diehl-Armstrong kill Roden?
She is believed to have killed Roden to prevent him from informing authorities about the robbery plot .
When did Judge McLaughlin decide Diehl-Armstrong was competent to stand trial?
On February 24, 2009, Judge McLaughlin scheduled a hearing for March 11, 2010, to determine whether Diehl-Armstrong was now competent to stand trial. On September 9, the judge determined she was now competent. In October 2010, Diehl-Armstrong took the stand to testify on her own behalf as part of her defense. She asked for a change of venue, arguing extensive media coverage of the case prevented her from receiving a fair trial in Erie. Judge McLaughlin denied this request, noting while the allegations were unusual, "the [news] coverage as a whole has been about as factual and objective as it could be under the circumstances".
Who was indicted for bank robbery?
A federal grand jury indicted Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes on charges of bank robbery, conspiracy, and weapons charges. Fellow co-conspirator William "Bill" Rothstein had died and his roommate Floyd Stockton was given immunity from prosecution so he could testify against Diehl-Armstrong.
Was Wells a participant in the bank robbery?
Investigators concluded and a federal prosecutor's indictment alleged Wells was a knowing participant in the bank robbery but was told the bomb was fake and did not know his co-conspirators intended for him to die.
What happened to Brian Wells?
What exactly happened there remains mysterious, but what we do know is that someone locked a bomb collar around Brian Wells’ ne ck and ordered him to rob a bank or else he would explode. So began the story of one ...
How much money did Brian Wells give to a bank teller?
However, the teller explained that she couldn’t gather that much money in so little time and only gave him $8,702.
How did Rothstein die?
Those questions would become harder to answer after Rothstein died of lymphoma in 2004, before being brought to justice for his part in the whole Evil Genius affair.
What was the bomb around Wells' neck?
As Wells understood it, the bomb around his neck was supposed to be a fake, a decoy that he’d use to threaten the bank employees. But when he went to the secluded area by the TV tower, he learned that the other conspirators led by Diehl-Armstrong had changed their minds and put a real bomb around his neck.
How long did it take for Brian Wells' collar to explode?
As police called in the bomb squad and then took cover, Wells sat on a parking lot of an eyeglass shop near the bank. The collar exploded three minutes before the bomb squad arrived and 30 minutes after the robbery. It ripped a hole in the chest of Brian Wells and he died right there.
How long was Barnes in jail?
However, Barnes stuck to his story about Wells’ involvement. And even though he’d cooperated with authorities, he was still sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to bank robbing charges in 2008.
Who was the woman who robbed a bank?
But soon, Rothstein claimed that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, a local woman with a criminal past who lived with Roden a month before the heist, hatched the bank robbery because her father was squandering her multimillion-dollar inheritance and she needed money to pay a hitman to kill him before all the money was gone.
What is the FBI's lawsuit against Wells Fargo?
(“Wells Fargo” or the “Bank”) alleging that it violated the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act (“FIRREA”) by fraudulently overcharging hundreds of commercial customers, many of them small and medium-sized businesses and federally-insured financial institutions, who used the Bank’s foreign exchange (“FX”) service. Specifically, the United States alleged that, from 2010 through 2017, Wells Fargo FX sales specialists defrauded 771 customers by systematically charging them higher markups on FX transactions than they represented the Bank would charge, and concealing these overcharges through various misrepresentations and deceptive practices.
How much did Wells Fargo pay in restitution?
District Judge John G. Koeltl, Wells Fargo will pay a total of approximately $72.6 million, with approximately $35.3 million having been paid directly to the 771 customers collectively as restitution and approximately $37.3 million to be paid to the United States as civil penalties under FIRREA and as asset forfeiture. Wells Fargo also made extensive admissions of certain conduct alleged in the Government’s complaint, including that many FX sales specialists overcharged hundreds of commercial customers by applying larger sales margins or spreads than they represented they would, and that, in certain instances, when customers contacted the Bank to inquire about higher-than-agreed-upon pricing, FX sales specialists would give customers false explanations for the inflated prices.
How did FX sales specialists overcharge?
During the Covered Period, many FX sales specialists overcharged hundreds of commercial customers by applying larger sales margins or spreads to customer FX transactions than they represented they would.
How did Wells Fargo use deception?
Wells Fargo FX sales specialists used a variety of misrepresentations and deceptive practices to defraud customers . For example, instead of applying agreed-upon fixed spreads to customers’ outgoing wires, FX sales specialists would charge inflated spreads that were as large as the FX sales specialists thought they could get away with. Furthermore, rather than charging the agreed-upon fixed spread to the FX market rate at the time the outgoing wire was converted, FX sales specialists would select the best rate for the Bank and worst rate for the customer from the FX price fluctuations from the beginning of the trading day until the time of the transaction. This practice was referred to internally as “Range of Day” Pricing.
Does Wells Fargo sell FX?
During 2010 through 2017 (the “Covered Period”), Wells Fargo offered FX services to commercial customers located throughout the United States, such as converting the customers’ US dollars into foreign currency for outgoing wire transfers and converting incoming wire transfers of foreign currency into U.S. dollars. Wells Fargo profited from these transactions by marking up the prices on currency it was selling to and marking down the prices on currency it was buying from its customers. Wells Fargo employees referred internally to this currency mark-up as a “spread” or “sales margin.” Wells Fargo FX sales specialists frequently entered into agreements with the Bank’s customers pursuant to which they represented that the Bank would charge specific spreads or sales margins on their FX transactions. These agreements, referred to internally as “fixed-pricing agreements,” were both written and oral in nature.
Did Wells Fargo take disciplinary action?
In the settlement, Wells Fargo acknowledged that it took adverse employment actions against more than 20 Wells Fargo employees who were involved in the FX business, including various disciplinary actions and separation of employment, and affirmed that it has taken various steps in an effort to comply with industry FX best practices.This matter was initially brought to the Government’s attention by a whistleblower who filed a confidential declaration with the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to the Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act.
Did Wells Fargo receive money from customers?
Wells Fargo received millions of dollars from customers to which the Bank was not entitled.
Overview
On August 28, 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells robbed a PNC Bank near his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. After being apprehended by police, Wells was murdered when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into the murder uncovered a complex plot that has been described as "one of the most complicated and biz…
Biography
Brian Wells was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, to Rose and Harold Wells, the latter of whom was a Korean War veteran. In 1973, when Wells was a 16-year-old sophomore, he dropped out of Erie's East High School and went to work as a mechanic.
Conspirators
At Kenneth Barnes' home, he, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, and William Rothstein discussed ways they could make money. Diehl-Armstrong suggested Barnes kill her father, Harold Diehl, so she would receive an inheritance. Barnes told her he was willing to do this for US$250,000 (equivalent to $368,262 in 2021). The collar bomb-bank robbery plot was hatched to obtain enough money to pay Barnes to kill Diehl-Armstrong's father. In return for a reduced sentence, Barnes later told inv…
The crime
The bomb used in the killing consisted of a hinged collar that worked like a large handcuff to go around the neck, four keyholes that went under the chin, and a rectangular section that contained two pipe bombs and two kitchen timers. One electronic timer hung down over the chest. The device had several decoys, such as unconnected wires, a toy cell phone, and stickers bearing deceptive warnings.
Aftermath
WJET-TV, an Erie ABC affiliate, broadcast the event live on the air, but did not show the moment of the detonation live due to a technical problem. The station provided the footage to FBI investigators, ABC's head office, and sister station in Buffalo, New York. The footage was subsequently leaked to a shock jock on DC101, a radio station in Washington, D.C. who posted it on his website in September 2003. Although he subsequently removed the video at WJET-TV's requ…
Media attention
As the case continued to develop, the investigation garnered national media coverage in America. Less than two years since the September 11 attacks, many at first believed the incident to be terrorism-related. Fox's America's Most Wanted featured the story three times and publicized newly released evidence in hopes officials could obtain new clues in the case.
Due to its novelty and complexity, the story retains a fascination for many people. The January 2…
In fiction
The 2011 American comedy film 30 Minutes or Less depicts a pizza delivery man being forced to wear a bomb vest and rob a bank, with the mastermind seeking the money to hire a hitman to kill his father and receive his inheritance. The film's similarity to the Wells case was criticized by Wells' family, but Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group said the cast and crew were not aware of the Wells case and the screenwriters were "vaguely familiar" with it.
See also
• List of unusual deaths
• 1973 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce bank robbery, in which a bank robber was killed due to an explosive device
• Mosman bomb hoax, a 2011 extortion attempt using a fake collar bomb