Former San Antonio Wells Fargo branch manager says sales ‘scheme’ led to firing

A former longtime Wells Fargo Bank branch manager in San Antonio accuses the bank of discriminating against him and ultimately firing him for speaking up against the sales tactics that have upended the institution and provoked consumer outrage and government investigations.

Alex Leal claims he was terminated in 2015 for resisting the bank’s “unethical and illegal sales practices” after working as a local Wells Fargo branch manager for more than 15 years, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Bexar County District Court. He was working at a branch on the West Side when he was terminated.

Leal, 48, also is suing the bank for age discrimination, saying Wells Fargo sought to hire younger, less-experienced workers who would “buy into (its) scheme of cross-selling items to bank customers that they did not request or need, particularly … credit cards.” He says he was replaced by a 29-year-old.

The lawsuit is believed to be the first filed in state district court here by an ex-Wells Fargo employee over the scandal.

Paul Vick, Leal’s lawyer, and a Wells Fargo spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

Leal’s suit is just the latest in a mountain of legal woes for Wells Fargo, which last month revealed it had set aside $1.7 billion to deal with its widening legal troubles. Besides the myriad of government investigations, including by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank is facing class-action lawsuits filed by customers, investors and former employees.

As many as 2 million fake bank and credit card accounts were opened by bank employees without customer authorization, all part of an effort to achieve lofty sales goals. The bank was fined $185 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among others, in September. CEO John Stumpf was forced out without severance pay the following month in an abrupt retirement that was “immediately effective.”

Earlier this month, U.S. bank regulators slapped restrictions on the San Francisco lender after finding it failed to adequately fix deficiencies in a plan to unwind its business in the event of a failure without wreaking havoc on the broader financial system — its so-called “living will.” It could eventually be forced to restructure, Bloomberg News reported.

Leal was told he was being terminated for allegedly violating the company’s code of ethics and business conduct policy, his lawsuit says. Robert Ortiz, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as a district manager for Wells Fargo, said Leal instructed employees to lie about an incident that occurred at the branch at 8360 Marbach Road, which Leal managed, according to the lawsuit. No details on the incident were provided.

The statements about Leal were false and intended to harass him, discredit him among his co-workers and adversely affect his employment, the suit says.

Leal was being harassed because he told executives on “numerous occasions” that Wells Fargo’s practice “of pushing credit cards to customers while misrepresenting the benefits and need for the cards was … unethical and illegal,” the suit adds.

Leal requested a “right to sue” letter from the the Texas Workforce Commission before he filed, but he has not received one.

The only cause of action listed in the complaint is for defamation. Leal seeks more than $1 million in damages, including for back pay and lost future earnings.

pdanner@express-news.net

Twitter: @AlamoPD

The Associated Press contributed to this report.