The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank. The CFPB alleges that for several years Fifth Third without consumers knowledge:
- Opened deposit and credit card accounts in consumers names
- Transferred funds from consumers’ existing accounts to new, improperly opened accounts
- Enrolled consumers in unauthorized online-banking services
- Activated unauthorized lines of credit on consumer’s accounts
The CFPB alleges that this conduct continued through at least 2016, despite knowing from at least 2008 that this practice was occurring. Fifth Third claims that the lawsuit is unnecessary and they had investigated the allegations and found that a total of 1,100 accounts were opened fraudulently out of 10 million existing accounts and the financial damage caused was less than $30,000. If this all sounds familiar then that’s because Wells Fargo had a similar suit against them filed and were recently ordered to pay a $3 billion dollar fine.
