NEW YORK—An internal investigation into Wells Fargo & Co’s sales scandal released on Monday found no evidence the bank had retaliated against employees who came forward about sales practice abuses, despite earlier media reports and lawsuits from ex-employees that claimed otherwise.
At least five Wells Fargo employees had sued the San Francisco-based bank or filed complaints with U.S. regulators alleging they were fired after reporting unauthorized openings of checking and credit card accounts for clients by bank employees, according to a Reuters review of lawsuits and complaints to the U.S. Labor Department.
U.S. prosecutors in San Francisco subpoenaed Yesenia Guitron, one of the highest-profile whistleblowers, in December to compel her to testify before a grand jury.
The internal report commissioned by Wells Fargo’s board and prepared by law firm Shearman & Sterling said on Monday that there was no systematic retaliation against employees who spoke out about the sales practices.
“Based on a limited review completed to date, Shearman & Sterling has not identified a pattern of retaliation against Community Bank employees who complained about sales pressures or practices,” a footnote in the report said.
