Wells Fargo: Angry shareholder dragged out of meeting

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Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Wells Fargo: Angry shareholder dragged out of meeting
A Wells Fargo shareholder was tossed out of a meeting Tuesday after the company said he physically moved toward a board member, demanding an explanation regarding millions of fraudulent accounts that were opened.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Wells Fargo investors took the San Francisco-based bank to task at their first shareholders' meeting since the discovery that bank employees had opened two million fraudulent accounts.

RELATED: State treasurer sanctions Wells Fargo due to accounts scandal

A bank stockholders' meeting is usually boring stuff, but not on Tuesday.

Reuters took to Twitter to post a picture of CEO Tim Sloan outside the meeting in Florida where he and the board were slammed by investors. They're angry over the fake accounts that employees opened in customers' names without their permission in order to meet sales goals.

The bank has since agreed to a $185 million settlement, fired 5,000 employees and refunded $3 million to customers.

On Tuesday, a Boston shareholder named Bruce Marks was tossed out. Wells Fargo said he was tossed out for physically moving toward a board member and demanding an explanation. "They were like deer in the headlights. They were petrified to answer any questions, so they surrounded me with six security guards, and the police and they dragged me out," Marks said.

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren took to Twitter saying: "Shareholders should vote out every member of the @WellsFargo's board who was around during this scam. This is about accountability."

In the end, all board members were re-elected, though the margin was slim for several, which was interpreted as a message of dissatisfaction.

Wells Fargo's chairman Stephen Sanger issued a response saying: "Let me assure you that the board has heard that message, and we recognize there is still a great deal of work to do to rebuild the trust of stockholders, customers and employees."