Once more, one of America's largest banks has had to pay a billion dollars in fines due to their illegal mistreatment of customers.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has attempted to divert the public's focus from the FTX drama by bringing to light the lack of consequence Wells Fargo bank faced when the organization was imposed with a $3.7 billion fine for mismanagement, which Garlinghouse referred to as "barely a blip on the radar."

The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Wells Fargo to pay more than $2 billion to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty on December 20th. This judgement was made due to Wells Fargo's actions which caused billions of dollars' worth of harm to their customers, with some even losing their vehicles and homes.

For 16 million customers, Wells Fargo has been found to have accrued and charged fees and interest charges on auto and mortgage loans, surprise overdraft fees and incorrect charges to checking and savings accounts over the course of several years.

In his statement, CFPB director Rohit Chopra said:

“Wells Fargo’s rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of American families. The CFPB is ordering Wells Fargo to refund billions of dollars to consumers across the country. This is an important initial step for accountability and long-term reform of this repeat offender.”

In 2016, the CFPB fined one of the biggest banks in the United States, Wells Fargo (with a market capitalization of $156.6 billion), for creating millions of fraudulent savings accounts without the consent of its customers. Four years later, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve potential criminal and civil liability for this misconduct. This instance is not the first time the bank has violated the law and caused harm to its clients.