Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf stepped down after his 10th year  being CEO on September 29th. His reputation has been shattered by the bank’s most recent scandal in which thousands of Wells Fargo employees had been creating phony accounts in order to charge customers more.  This has now resulted in this departure from the company. Stumpf will now be replaced with President and Chief Operating Officer, Timothy Sloan.

On Thursday September 8th, federal regulators came out to say that thousands of Wells Fargo employees were set out to be making phony bank accounts, in order to charge customers for unwarranted fees. According to these federal regulators, this has been going on since 2011. As said in a statement by Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (BFPB), “Wells Fargo employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses.”

This problem came to light in early September when the bank agreed to a $185 million fine and enforcement action with regulations. As well as when it became known that Wells Fargo had fired over 5,300 employees over a five year period for “shady” behavior.

By creating these phony accounts,  the bank was earning money as well as the employees who were then able to boost their sales and ultimately earn more money themselves. In the process, employees went as far as creating fake PIN numbers and false email addresses. They also submitted applications of credit card accounts without their customer’s consent or knowledge.

The fees for some accounts added up to a whopping $400,000, including annual fees, interest charges and overdraft-protection fees. Customers tend to be furious.  “Myself and especially my mom were very angry after finding out about the false fees. Being very upset about the money taken from us, we immediately closed our accounts and switched to a different bank,” Samantha Batavia, junior, said. The CFPB says that Wells Fargo will do their best and pay “full restitutions to all victims.” New CEO, Timothy Sloan is now determined to further build Well’s Fargo’s reputation back up, using all in his power to do so.