ICYMI: Secretary Chao’s Scandal-Plagued Tenure on Wells Fargo Board Featured in Morning Consult Opinion Piece 

Under Chao’s watch, hundreds of thousands of Americans were defrauded and she is still getting paid out for the position

WASHINGTON — In an opinion piece for Morning Consult today, Restore Public Trust Director Lizzy Price details the fraud that took place under now-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s watch while she served as a board member for Wells Fargo. Listing the damning facts that have put Chao’s corruption under a microscope, Price urges the House Financial Services Committee to call on Chao to answer for her role in the banks’ numerous consumer abuses.  

Outlining Chao’s involvement in the bank’s corruption, Price writes: 

Chao served on the Wells Fargo Board of Directors from 2011 until 2017, a period marked by non-stop scandals, before she resigned to become President Trump’s Transportation Secretary. As a Wells Fargo board member, Chao was responsible for overseeing the ethics and fair corporate practices of the mega bank. She sat on the bank’s Corporate Responsibility and Credit and Finance committees, all while Wells Fargo committed massive fraud against its customers, including improperly repossessing veterans’ cars and wreaking havoc on their credit. She oversaw Wells Fargo’s residential lending practices that led to hundreds of customers being improperly foreclosed on and losing their homes. Additionally, Wells Fargo charged more than half a million borrowers for insurance they did not want nor need while Chao served on its board.

Price also draws attention to the fact that Chao is still collecting payouts from the bank…

“Perhaps most alarming is the fact that Chao is still getting paid by Wells Fargo, even though she now serves the American people as a member of Trump’s cabinet. Her compensation from sitting on the Wells Fargo board includes stock payouts of up to $5 million over the course of five years — 30 percent of which she received in March of this year. Chao is raking in cash, while Wells Fargo customers still struggle to recover from the bank’s fraudulent schemes against them.”

…before finally calling upon the House Financial Service Committee to take action.

“The explosive stories that put Secretary Chao’s corruption under the microscope demonstrate why it is important for the House Financial Services Committee to call Chao as a witness to answer questions about how this fraud happened on her watch and whether she is still getting paid by the bank while also serving American taxpayers. Scandal after scandal unfolded during her tenure on the board. The American people deserve to hear from Chao directly about how she let this corporate fraud and abuse happen while she was charged with oversight of the bank.

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans were defrauded during Secretary Chao’s tenure on the Wells Fargo board – a massive corporate interest that she still profits from today – even as she serves as cabinet secretary. It is long past time that she answer for her scandal-plagued tenure.”

Read the full opinion piece for Morning Consult here

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