NYT-

Wells Fargo’s tab for its sham accounts scandal shot up again on Friday, when the bank agreed to pay $480 million to settle a class-action claim from shareholders who said they were harmed by the bank’s false statements about its misdeeds.

The deal, which still needs approval from a federal court in San Francisco, would compensate investors who bought Wells Fargo stock from February 2014 to September 2016 — the month that regulators and law enforcement officials brought the bank’s illegal actions to light and fined it $185 million.

The bank said it denied the shareholders’ accusations but chose to settle the case to avoid the cost and distraction of fighting the claims.

“Moving to put this case behind us is in the best interest of our team members, customers, investors and other stakeholders,” Timothy J. Sloan, Wells Fargo’s chief executive, said in a written statement.

[NYT]