Wells Fargo: U.S. targeting executive as defendant may be retaliation

In a motion filed in New York federal court opposing the Justice Department's request to add executive Kurt Lofrano as a defendant, Wells Fargo said it told the government it would no longer engage in settlement negotiations on October 29 after months of discussions. The bank questioned why the Justice Department waited a year before deciding to pursue claims against Lofrano, who has joined a very short list of individual executives to be sued by the government over actions that contributed to the financial crisis. On November 22, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman for permission to add Lofrano, who it said played a "critical role" in the bank's alleged failure to report the loans' flaws to the government. The case is U.S. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-07527.

via Business News - Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wells-fargo-u-targeting-executive-000541493.html