Case 5: Wells Fargo sales misconduct

Private policing in the area of crime investigations can provide valuable insights into misconduct cases as illustrated by Wells Fargo’s sales practices investigation report. By application of the theory of convenience, it is possible to identify individual and organizational motives, organizational opportunities, and personal willingness in white-collar abuses of bank sales practices. The investigation report of 113 pages can be a valuable document if the public criminal justice system decides to look into the case of potential offenders that may have violated specific statutory provisions. The legitimacy of private policing of financial crime is a topic of enduring importance. Fraud examiners do often not only investigate, they sometimes also prosecute, and sometimes even pass a verdict in their reports of investigations on suspected individuals. This contradicts the practice of criminal justice in democratic societies, where clear distinctions are made between investigation, prosecution, and sentencing in court. Making it even worse in terms of lack of legitimacy, fraud examiners sometimes apply methods and procedures that are not only unethical, but also illegal.