Former Wells Fargo Employee Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison

By Emily Glazer 

A former Wells Fargo & Co. employee who organized a bank fraud scheme to steal customer-account data was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Thursday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California.

In addition to the prison term, Ronald Charles Reed of Inglewood, Calif., must pay nearly $600,000 in restitution to the bank, which has been in the spotlight for a sales-practices scandal for months.

In September, the San Francisco bank paid a $185 million fine for opening as many as 2.1 million accounts using fictitious or unauthorized customer information.

Mr. Reed pleaded guilty in March to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Mr. Reed, also known as Disco Ronnie, admitted working with former Wells Fargo employees and runners to impersonate customers by stealing their dates of birth, account numbers, driver's license numbers and Social Security numbers. The other bank employees who worked with Mr. Reed have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said the bank's commitment to keeping customers' information and assets safe remains a priority and the bank "will continue to cooperate with authorities to ensure violators are brought to justice."

Wells Fargo fired about 5,300 employees over the past roughly five years due to improper sales tactics. It reports fourth-quarter earnings on Friday.

Write to Emily Glazer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 12, 2017 23:09 ET (04:09 GMT)

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