Top Story: The Mess Wells Fargo Created

 A Texas Perspective

Daily update | Friday, June 27, 2025

An Educational Newsletter

Good morning,

Many once believed that Wells Fargo was beyond the edge of being a reputable banking institution. When it came to business, checking, and savings accounts, the institution wasn't selling pipe dreams. But that was once upon a time.

Beginning in 2016, the institution has faced multiple scandals that involved regulatory issues concerning sales practices and anti-money laundering compliance that have led to fines and restrictions. The cause and effects of these scandals and practices have damaged the bank's reputation from regulators, and although its customers, on a large scale don't trust the institution, there are still plenty of customers finding out, that trust is not a part of the bank's system.

The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a $3 billion settlement over fake accounts scandals and anti-money laundering deficiencies.

In June this year, the Leon family almost lost $8,000 in what was considered to be an elaborate scheme by a scammer claiming to be with the Wells Fargo fraud department. With all the other troubles plaguing the bank, the Leons discovered they were scammed, and reported it to the bank. The bank in the beginning denied the couple’s claim, and even accused them of participating in the scam.

The most recent case against Wells Fargo involves Roberta Thompson who fell victim to a scheme that cost her $20,000. Thompson received a text msg supposedly from the Wells Fargo fraud department, and then a telephone call concerning a fraudulent transaction and was instructed to withdraw all of her savings and deposit it into a new account that had been set up for her. The problem was, that the account wasn't a new account set up for her, it was an account set up by the scammer.

It's time to become aware of scammers selling pipe dreams, but in the end, only offering up smoke and mirrors that create a need for a miracle.

In The News

The Texas cell phone ban for students has brought critics to life with concerns of safety for the students, citing the tragic Uvalde school shooting . . . . In a move that seems to completely ignore recent history, Texas has passed a cell phone ban for students in K-12 schools. According to Fox 7, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1481, which bans students from using cell phones during the school day. The law requires schools to either ban students from bringing cell phones on campus or provide a secure location for students to put their phones when they arrive at school. The law bans cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, and any device “capable of telecommunication or digital communication.” The Texas cell phone ban also requires schools to punish students if they’re found using any of the aforementioned devices during school hours. Newsone

Elon Musk’s Robotaxi service has launched, but according to reports, there’s some serious work that needs to be done . . . . Tesla's Robotaxi service, which launched in Austin, Texas less than a week ago, has seen its vehicles involved in so many dodgy situations that Redditors put together a list of all the incidents. The list (via The Verge) currently consists of 11 videos of Tesla's Robotaxis making fairly obvious errors such as driving in the wrong lane, running over curbs, and stopping in the middle of the road for no good reason. Mashable

America is undergoing a radicalized religious war that’s determined to be Christian terrorism . . . .

What do you call a white man who murders his political enemies, believes the world is ending, and thinks God told him to prepare for war? In America, we call him a concerned Christian “prepper.” The only thing more American than apple pie is a white man with a Bible, a stockpile of guns, and a martyr complex. One of them turned his faith into firepower, and once again, the media still won’t call it what it is: another chapter in America’s long love affair with white religious violence. America, once again, is pretending not to know its own doctrine. Newsone

Journalism is supposed to be fair, objective, and balanced, but as we know, PBS, nor NPR are either and that’s the reason for the Trump administration’s plans to cut federal funding . . . . Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee pushed back against the Trump administration’s bid to kill $9 billion in federal funding that Congress already has approved for public broadcasting and international aid programs. In President Trump’s request to Congress, sent last month, he justified the cuts because the targeted foreign aid programs were “antithetical to American interests,” and because “[f]ederal spending on [the Corporation for Public Broadcasting] subsidizes a public media system that is politically biased and is an unnecessary expense to the taxpayer.” Houston Public Media

Message from the publisher:

A Texas Perspective is designed to be informative, historical, and educational, reflecting the ever-evolving political cultures in the country that no longer prioritize voters' interests. We have become a country that no longer knows where it came from, and as such, we're embarking upon that journey again without knowing it.

Thanks,

Don W. Allison/Editor, A Texas Perspective

 There's more in today's issue of A Texas Perspective Magazine.