Lawsuit claims Wells Fargo discriminated against Black loan applicants with higher interest rates

ATLANTA - There is a growing list of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Wells Fargo over alleged racial discrimination.

Additional plaintiffs joined civil rights attorney Ben Crump in a lawsuit alleging the bank denied black people a shot at homeownership by charging a higher interest rate than deserved based on credit score.

"You can try to play the game with us individually and think you can sweep it under the rug," attorney Ben Crump said during a press conference Monday. "But you can't play the game with all of us, Wells Fargo."

Wells Fargo & Company called the allegations in the lawsuit "unfounded" in a statement Monday, claiming the bank was the largest for home mortgages to Black families in 2020. The company claimed to help more Black homeowners to refinance mortgages in 2020 and increased that total by 106% in 2021.

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"We are deeply disturbed by allegations of discrimination that we believe do not stand up to scrutiny. We are confident that we follow relevant government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) guidelines in our decision making and that our underwriting practices are consistently applied regardless of a customer’s race or ethnicity. These unfounded attacks on Wells Fargo stand in stark contrast to the company’s significant and long-term commitment to closing the minority homeownership gap." 

Christopher Williams claims Wells Fargo tried to charge him a "higher rate in 2019 than what his credit score warranted him." He's joined by several others wanting to make the suit class-action. 

"I know a lot of people that would've taken that loan and been grateful for it," he said. "But they would not have known they were discriminated against. And they would have not known they are now paying more than they should have. What does that do? Further the wealth gap in this country."

At a news conference Monday at Mt. Zion Second Baptist Church in Atlanta, Crump called for other cities in the U.S. to follow suit. 

So far, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the city would no longer open new accounts with Wells Fargo.