Wells Fargo settles case with Navajo Nation
First complaint was filed in 2017, dismissed, then appealed to a higher court before deal
FARMINGTON — The Navajo Nation has reached a $6.5 million settlement with Wells Fargo Bank in its federal appeal against the financial institution for unlawful practices against tribal members.
The settlement was announced Thursday in a news release from the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President.
The tribe sued Wells Fargo in December 2017 for allegedly using deceptive banking practices to prey upon and pressure tribal members into opening additional banking accounts at its locations on and near the reservation.
“Wells Fargo’s predatory actions defrauded and harmed the nation,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in the release.
After a federal district court judge dismissed the lawsuit, the tribe appealed to a higher court in Denver in fall 2018. The action coincided with a separate lawsuit in Window Rock District Court.
The settlement also settles claims filed in the tribal court.
Jared Touchin, spokesman for the president’s office, said the $6.5 million settlement applies to the appeal case and to the complaint in tribal court.
The lawsuit in 2017 was made more than a year after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a $100 million fine against Wells Fargo for the illegal practice of secretly opening unauthorized accounts.
The Navajo Nation filed its complaint in December 2017 in U.S. District Court in New Mexico. It was dismissed in September 2018. The tribe then pursued an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver.