Consumer complaint received 2018-09-11
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MO
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
To whom it may concern, I believe my partner and I have been scammed by a money laundering operation perpetrated by an account holder of Wells Fargo Bank. We made an effort to report this to Wells Fargo 's fraud department, but after speaking to a rep and sending documents as instructed, the next rep we tried to follow up with stated they couldn't help us because we were not account holders. 
This is the original email we received and became interested in : DEAR XXXX, WE PAID 2 NEW CLIENTS LAST WEEK ... WORKING GREAT. READ TWICE LOTS HERE ... 




WE CAN DO PROJECT LOANS IF YOU HAVE 5 % IN CASH OF THE AMOUNT YOU ARE TRYING TO RAISE. THIS IS A WORKING PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN PERFORMING FOR SOME TIME NOW. DO YOU HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY? PROJECTS CAN BE NONPROFIT OR FOR PROFIT AND THEY CAN BE ANYWHERE. LOANS ARE FLEXIBLE IN TERMS AND ALL HAVE VERY LOW INTEREST RATES, SOME HAVE NO PAYMENTS FOR 6 MONTHS AND SOME ARE INTEREST ONLY FOR SEVERAL YEARS. SEND US AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND A POF FOR THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE IN CASH AND WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU WITH A LOAN PROPOSAL ... MINIMUM LOAN IS ABOUT {>= $1,000,000} NO MAXIMUM. THESE LOANS DO NOT REQUIRE COLLATERAL OR GOOD CREDIT. LOAN IS BASED ON SOCIETAL VALUE OF PROJECT AND YOUR CASH DOWN PAYMENT ... FIRST LOAN PROCEEDS ( APPROX. 25 % ) IN 45 TO 60 DAYS. LENDER WILL REQUIRE A 5 % EQUITY STAKE IN THE PROJECT. 


OR USE THIS SECOND PROGRAM BELOW, IS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM AS WELL. THIS IS A TRADE OPTION FOR CASH. THE PROGRAM BELOW IS NOT A LOAN JUST A STRAIGHT ONE TIME CASH PAYOUT ... 

WE PAID 8 CLIENTS LAST MONTH ... AND MORE THAN 30 IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS, VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM ... 

IT IS NOT EASY TO FIND SMALL PROGRAMS THAT ARE WORKING, THIS IS CHANGING PEOPLE 'S LIVES FOR THE BETTER ... AND IT CAN DO THE SAME FOR YOU ... 

PURSUANT TO YOUR REQUEST ... THESE ONLY STAY OPEN FOR A SHORT WHILE SO DON'T DELAY ACTION THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY, READ CAREFULLY ... YOU CAN USE THE PROGRAM BELOW TO RAISE THE 5 % FOR YOUR LOAN ... OR JUST TO MAKE MONEY ... 


We do have a new program that was introduced to us by our trader and the details are as follows : DON'T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE THIS WILL BE FILL QUICKLY. We have limited client openings available right now. These are 1 year contracts. VERY QUICK ... ALL PAYOUTS BELOW OCCUR IN 60 or 120 DAYS. THESE ARE PROJECT OR DISCRETIONARY FUNDS. CLIENTS ORIGINAL FUNDS ARE RETURNED AT THE END OF ONE YEAR. 

{$25000.00} up to {>= $1,000,000} The funding from these programs occurs in a 60 or 120 DAY time frame ( see below ). 


THERE IS NO MAXIMUM ON HOW MANY " SLOTS '' ONE CLIENT CAN TAKE. THIS IS A ONE TIME PAYMENT THEN CLIENT CAN COME BACK IN AGAIN IF PROGRAM IS OPEN ... 



{$25000.00} pays out {$75000.00} in 120 days. 
{$50000.00} pays out {$200000.00} in 120 days. 
{$100000.00} pays out {$500000.00} in 120 days. 
{$250000.00} pays out {>= $1,000,000} in 60 days. 
{$500000.00} pays out {>= $1,000,000} in 60 days. 
{$750000.00} pays out {>= $1,000,000} in 60 days. 
{>= $1,000,000} pays out {>= $1,000,000} in 60 days. 

YOU CAN DO ONE, GET PAID AND COME BACK IN TO REACH YOUR FUNDING GOALS AS LONG AS THE PROGRAM IS OPEN AND AVAILABLE ... 


VERY SUCCESSFUL ... GREAT HISTORY AS A WORKING PROGRAM ... 

Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX Part of XXXX XXXX XXXX of companies We have heard about these scams, did our due diligence and decided to move forward. Reason for this were the supposed transparency of both the company we invested with as well as the funds being flowed through an attorney 's escrow account, also an account holder with your company. 
We also received a bank statement from the company we invested with and determined the document to be fraudulent considering the math does not pan out. We have attached to this email a copy of the bank statement we were provided with as well as a copy of our contract, showing the attorneys banking information. 
As part of the attached information you will see bank statements from XXXX XXXX XXXX. We have been in contact with their fraud department and they have been very helpful. We have voice documentation from XXXX that they have found a level of fraud with these accounts and we are moving forward based on their recommendations. 
We eagerly await your response. 

Sincerely yours, XXXX XXXX and XXXX " XXXX '' XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation