They would do this to meet daily quotas that were so important that managers would, according to a California lawsuit against the bank, “constantly hound, berate, demean and threaten employees” to meet them. Those who couldn’t would be put on probation, forced to work unpaid overtime, or even fired. Not helping matters was that, for certain branches, it was literally impossible to meet the quotas, as there just weren’t enough customers in the general area to do so. 

For instance, Claudia Ponce de Leon, had been a highly commended branch manager for years, until 2011, when she reported the fake accounts to the bank’s ethics hotline. Three weeks later, she was accused of drinking excessively and engaging in inappropriate behavior, then fired. 

Even as far back as 2005, a Wells Fargo employee named Julie Tishkoff voiced her concerns about sham accounts and, in a suit that was ultimately settled, was met with a four-year long campaign of retaliation aimed at getting her to quit, which included unwarranted discipline, public criticism and humiliation, removal of job duties and harassment. Beyond regular insults about her weight from co-workers, she was also required to lay out thousands of dollars in her own money for business expenses, the only executive assistant required to do so. She said she was repeatedly instructed to lie to clients, and when she’d refuse, the harassment would get worse until, eventually, she was fired in 2009.

Later, in a sworn statement, Stumpf admitted that the scam was indeed part of a systemic effort from bank leadership, but laid most of the blame at the feet of then-head of retail banking Carrie Tolstedt. The OCC is currently seeking an even larger fine against her, $25 million. 

While a $17.5 million fine might seem substantial to most readers, Bloomberg points out that the penalty will barely dent Stumpf's personal fortune. Despite his trials and tribulations, Bloomberg said that he collected $60 million of salary and bonuses while CEO, still has more than $80 million worth of stock, and has a pension worth $22.7 million.