Wachovia to Pay $144M to Settle OCC Investigation

WASHINGTON -- Wachovia Corp. agreed to pay up to $143.9 million to settle a government investigation into its relationship with telemarketers that allegedly harmed thousands of customers, including the elderly, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Part of the settlement includes an agreement to pay up to $125 million in restitution payments to consumers harmed by the practices, the paper reported.

The agency, which is a division of the Treasury Department, estimated that "thousands of consumers, many of whom were elderly" were harmed by schemes involving remotely created checks, which are checks that do not have an accountholder's signature, the paper reported. The OCC said the "bank profited from these activities in the form of fees collected from and balances maintained at the bank by the payment processors and telemarketers."

The agreement requires Wachovia to pay a $10 million fine and contribute $8.9 million to consumer education programs focused on the elderly, the paper reported.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 4/25/08