In the latest news headlines today, Jane Doe, a senior vice president of Wells Fargo, filed a lawsuit against Eric R. Pagel, a senior investment strategist (SVS), for raping her in California during a business trip. In her lawsuit filed Thursday, she said three co-workers also assisted in the assault against her.

According to the lawsuit, Jane said that when she raised the issue, the officials at Wells Fargo did not investigate the matter properly. She further claimed that the then-Managing Director and SVS raped her during a business trip on January 23, 2020, in Bakersfield, California. Jane said she and the defendants went to a bar and dinner that evening and consumed excessive alcohol, becoming intoxicated. 

Jane said an SVP named David Weitzel accompanied her back to the hotel room after the dinner. She claimed Eric knocked on her hotel room door soon, made his way in, and raped her. Further in her complaint, Jane confronted Eric a week later, and he admitted indulging in sex with her several times. Jane said Eric knew very well that she was intoxicated.

Jane said she was distressed to a point of paralysis after thinking about the sexual assault in the ensuing months. She said Weitzel showed a cavalier attitude after raising the issue of denigrating sexual comments. 

According to the lawsuit, Jane did not initially file a complaint about the rape by Eric through the former channels of Wells Fargo because she was mortified and embarrassed at the idea of filing a complaint. Jane thought she may be retaliated against, ridiculed, blamed, and further victimized for raising the issue. She later built up her courage to bring up the sexual assault incident in court after seeing her perpetrators live as if nothing happened.

Jane filed a lawsuit on November 13, 2020, with the ethics channels of Wells Fargo. She filed a complaint subsequently with the Sheriff’s Department of LA County. Following the complaint, Wells Fargo assigned her clients to some other employee without getting her consent. The bank also prevented her from communicating with clients on important matters. It also threatened to exclude her from lucrative accounts. 

Since Wells Fargo did not investigate the matter internally, she reported it to the US EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in April 2021. Jane left the job in July 2021 because of intolerance for her well-being. She is seeking compensation for her lost wages, medical expenses, emotional distress, and advocate fees. Defendants in the case, Brian Ray, Mark Peterson, and Weitzel, said they have not hired any attorneys so far. 

Wells Fargo is reviewing the allegations

Jane said Eric subjected her to groping, unwanted sexual advances, and sexual abuse after the alleged incident and before. It is not clear whether Eric still works at Wells Fargo. In an email message, Wells Fargo said it just learned about the lawsuit filed by its former SVP and is reviewing the matter. The spokesperson for Wells Fargo, Richele Messick, said the company takes misconduct allegations very seriously.

Wells Fargo settles consumer abuses

According to information obtained by Breaking News Network, the lawsuit is yet another setback for Wells Fargo, which has already faced several federal investigations into its practices. The bank recently settled several consumer cases of abuses by paying $3.7 billion. Wells Fargo has dominated the media with its toxic culture of allowing employees to open bogus bank accounts. It led to the removal of John Stumpf, its longtime CEO.