Wells Fargo employees face action for doctoring dinner receipts

Financial services giant Wells Fargo (WFC) has found itself in the center of yet another scandal involving its employees this week. In a surprise move, the bank took disciplinary action including termination against nearly a dozen employees of its investment bank division -Wells Fargo Securities – for manipulating the internal system for undue financial gains.

The bankers who face action, including managing directors and analysts, allegedly altered the receipts of their dinner orders to make them look legitimate enough to claim the expense. According to sources, the employees, who belong to the New York, San Francisco, and Charlotte offices, doctored the time of the emailed receipts to get the bank pay for their ‘after-hour’ meals.

The employees doctored the time of the emailed receipts to get the bank pay for their ‘after-hour’ meals

The management has launched a detailed probe into the violation of the expense policy to claim ineligible reimbursements. It is expected that more employees will be brought to book once the investigation progresses.

In a statement sent to Bloomberg, Wells Fargo spokeswoman Jessica Ong said, “we became aware that certain Wells Fargo Securities team members were not complying with the after-hours meals reimbursement policies after they were brought to the attention of our leaders by concerned team members.”

It was found that the employees used to get their dinner delivered by online food services, in violation of the company’s policy that allows those who work beyond the normal working hours to claim payment for their dinner. The matter came to light during a review of the expense filings for the past several months. It is learned that some of the senior officials involved in the scandal resigned voluntarily.

A couple of years ago, Wells Fargo was fined $185 million by regulators following revelations that its employees created fraudulent accounts for customers without seeking consent.

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