| Case | Stoff v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 37-2020-00020808-CU-BT-CTL (CARES Act forbearance credit reporting) |
| Court | Superior Court of California, County of San Diego |
| Status | Closed, no longer accepting claims |
| Claim deadline | None announced |
| Estimated payout | No claim form. Equal pro rata share of the $56.85 million fund after fees and costs, mailed by check by the end of August 2026. Checks must be cashed within 90 days. Per person amount not published |
| Proof required | No |
| How to file | Official settlement website (claims closed) |
There is no open class action lawsuit Wells Fargo customers can file a claim in right now. The most recent consumer payout, the $56.85 million CARES Act forbearance settlement for California mortgage borrowers, needed no paperwork: the court approved it on June 10, 2026, and checks went out by the end of August 2026. If you were in that group, your job now is to cash the check within 90 days. The other big 2026 payouts went to employees in the 401(k) plan and to shareholders, and the cash sweep cases are still in court with no settlement.
Wells Fargo settlements that paid out in 2026
Three separate settlements paid money in 2026, and none of them is still taking claims. Which one applies to you depends on whether you were a mortgage borrower, a 401(k) participant, or a shareholder.
| Case | Who is covered | Fund | How you get paid | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stoff (CARES Act forbearance) | California mortgage borrowers who were current, got a CARES Act forbearance on or after March 27, 2020, and were reported “in forbearance” | $56.85 million | Automatic check, equal share | Approved June 10, 2026; checks mailed by end of August 2026 |
| Randall v. GreatBanc (401(k) ESOP) | 401(k) Plan participants from September 27, 2016 to December 30, 2022 who held the ESOP Fund | $84 million | Deposit into active plan accounts; check or rollover for former participants | Approved April 20, 2026; paid August 13, 2026; checks void after February 9, 2027 |
| Diversity hiring securities case | Investors who bought the company’s common stock in the covered period | $85 million | Filed claim through the securities administrator | Final approval May 21, 2026 |
The CARES Act settlement: who got a check and how the math works
You are in this settlement if you had a Wells Fargo mortgage on a California property, your loan was current, you took a CARES Act forbearance on or after March 27, 2020, and the bank reported the loan to the credit bureaus as “in forbearance” or something similar. The plaintiff, Stoff, argued the CARES Act required the bank to report those loans as current. The bank denies wrongdoing, and the court never ruled on who was right.
The payment formula is simpler than most. Everyone in the settlement class gets the same amount: the net settlement fund divided by the number of people in the class. That net figure is what is left after attorneys’ fees (class counsel asked for no more than 30% of the fund), up to $190,000 in expenses, about $297,000 in administration costs, and service awards. The administrator has not published a per person figure.
Two details on the official FAQ matter more than the headline number:
- Checks expire after 90 days. A check mailed at the end of August 2026 goes void around late November 2026. There is no reissue promise in the notice, so call the administrator at 1-877-307-7268 if yours never arrived.
- A second round only goes to people who cashed. Money left from uncashed checks is split evenly among class members who cashed their first check, unless that would be under $5 each. Anything after that goes to Credit Builders Alliance, a nonprofit.
When we checked the official CARES Act settlement site in September 2026, it confirmed the June 10 approval and the end of August mailing. Payments like this are sometimes taxable depending on what they replace; see are class action settlements taxable.
The 401(k) ESOP settlement for employees
If you worked at the bank and held the ESOP Fund in the 401(k) Plan between September 27, 2016 and December 30, 2022, the $84 million deal in Randall v. GreatBanc Trust Co. (District of Minnesota, No. 22-cv-2354) already paid you. The judge chose to approve the settlement on April 20, 2026, and distributions went out on August 13, 2026. Active accounts were credited directly. Former participants who had cashed out received a check unless they sent a rollover election form, and those checks must be cashed by February 9, 2027.
Shareholder cases: $1 billion in 2023 and $85 million in 2026
Two securities fraud class action cases paid investors, not bank customers. You only had a claim if you bought the stock during the class period.
- In re Wells Fargo & Company Securities Litigation ($1 billion). Investors alleged the bank misled them about its progress on the 2018 regulatory consent orders. Covered purchases ran from February 2, 2018 through March 12, 2020. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (No. 1:20-cv-04494) approved it on September 8, 2023. Lead plaintiffs included Handelsbanken Fonder AB and the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi.
- Diversity hiring case ($85 million). Investors alleged the bank misrepresented its diverse search requirement while some managers held interviews for jobs already filled. Judge Trina Thompson in the Northern District of California granted final approval on May 21, 2026. Banking Dive reported about $59 million is left for investors after fees, roughly $0.056 per share if every eligible share files.
The administrator site for the $85 million case blocked our automated check, so we could not confirm the distribution date. If you filed, the plan of allocation on that site controls your share.
Cash sweep suits: still in court, nothing to claim
Wells Fargo advisory clients have sued over cash sweep interest, but there is no settlement and no class to join yet. In Cobb v. Wells Fargo & Company (N.D. Cal., No. 3:24-cv-06696, filed October 2024), the plaintiff alleges uninvested cash earned about 0.15% in 2023 while Treasury bills paid above 5.25%. In July 2026, Judge Vince Chhabria declined to certify a nationwide class for now, saying state statute of limitations differences created individual questions. The claims themselves were not thrown out.
Separately, the SEC charged two of the bank’s advisory firms in January 2025 over sweep compliance failures. They paid $28 million and $7 million in civil penalties. That was a regulatory action, not a private case, so there was no claim process. Other banks face similar suits; see our U.S. Bank page and the Capital One savings rate settlement, which is a different kind of interest case.
Older cases people still ask about
Most search results about a class action settlement Wells Fargo paid point to cases that closed years ago. None of these accept claims today.
- Wells Fargo unauthorized accounts ($142 million settlement). Covered customers who had fake accounts opened in their names. The claim deadline was July 7, 2018, and more than 472,000 claims were filed before final approval that year.
- CFPB order, December 2022 ($3.7 billion). Not a class action. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered more than $2 billion in redress for auto loan, mortgage, and deposit account problems, including surprise overdraft fees, plus a $1.7 billion penalty. Redress was paid directly by the bank, with nothing to file.
- Free trial subscription billing ($33 million). McNamara v. Wells Fargo (S.D. Cal.) alleged the bank helped merchants run deceptive free trial subscriptions. Claims were due March 4, 2026, with up to $20 available without documents.
An overdraft settlement we could not verify
At least one third-party claims site lists a $15 million overdraft fee settlement against the bank with an October 5, 2026 deadline and a Northern District of California case number. We searched federal dockets on CourtListener in September 2026 and could not find that case, and we found no official administrator site for it. We are not listing it as open. Before you enter bank details on any settlement page, confirm the site is named in court documents. Our guide on how to join a class action explains how to check.
For the next class action lawsuit Wells Fargo settles, watch the settlement deadlines list, which we update when a new claim period opens. If you were in the CARES Act class and have not cashed your check, do it before the 90 days run out.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if Wells Fargo owes me money?
Check whether you fit one of the recent classes: a California mortgage in CARES Act forbearance, the 401(k) ESOP Fund from 2016 to 2022, or a stock purchase during a covered period. Those payments were automatic or already required a claim. For CFPB redress, the bank paid affected customers directly.
How much will each person get from the Wells Fargo settlement?
In the CARES Act case, each person gets an equal share of the net fund, and the administrator has not published the amount. In the $85 million shareholder case, coverage estimated about $0.056 per share. Amounts differ for every case, so the official notice is the only reliable figure.
How do I join the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit?
Right now there is no open claim to join. The cash sweep cases have no certified class yet. When a settlement opens, you file through the official administrator website named in the court notice, not through a news article or ad.
Is there a Wells Fargo home mortgage class action?
The most recent mortgage case is the CARES Act forbearance settlement for California borrowers, which paid by check in August 2026. There is no mortgage settlement accepting claims as of September 29, 2026.
Who qualifies for the $5,000 Wells Fargo settlement?
We found no current Wells Fargo settlement that pays a flat $5,000. Treat any message promising that amount with caution, and verify the case on the official administrator site before sharing personal or bank information.
This page summarizes public court cases for general information only. It is not legal advice; for questions about your own situation, talk to a licensed attorney.