Class Action Says Wells Fargo Violated CARES Act by Refusing Small Business Loans to Non-Customers

HOUSTON — A new federal class action accuses Wells Fargo Bank of violating the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act by refusing to accept loan applications for small businesses unless they had a business checking account at the bank as of Feb. 15.

The April 11 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas says, “nothing in the CARES Act authorizes or permits the Defendant to pick and choose who would gain access to, or benefit from, the federally backed lending program.”

Plaintiff Edward L. Scherer, a Houston small business owner, contends that …