In the wake of the fraud scandal at Wells Fargo, Senator Elizabeth Warren has joined with a group of senators to demand that executives who profited from the fraud committed during their watch return the raises and bonuses made on the backs of defrauded customers.
It was this blatant profiting from employees’ criminal behavior which inspired Warren and others to pen a letter to John Stumpf, chairman of the Wells Fargo board of directors.
In the letter, the senators asked Stumpf what punishment the board of directors was planning to levy against executives at the company. Offering their own solution, Warren and others asked Stumpf if the board were considering revoking incentive compensation which was earned by the illegal activities.
“Will Wells Fargo take action to claw back any or all parts of any other senior executive’s incentive compensation ― including your own ― as a result of the settlement with the CFPB and other entities?”
If the board were to take this action, it would affect the pay of the executive who directly oversaw the illegal actions of the more than 5,000 employees.
Though the initial story on the Wells Fargo widespread fraud of customers featured the employees’ criminal role, it was later uncovered that the executive who directed the over-5,000 employees fired this week escaped the company unscathed, with no repercussions for her role, and a massive $124 million in exit pay.
In America today, when you rip off the American people as an employee, you are ruined, but if you do it as an executive? You get a big payday. Warren is fighting to change that status quo.
