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NJ clears Prudential Financial of wrongdoing in Wells Fargo sales scandal

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NJ clears Prudential Financial of wrongdoing in Wells Fargo sales scandal

New Jersey regulators have cleared Prudential Financial Inc. of any wrongdoing in the Wells Fargo & Co. life insurance sales matter after roughly a yearlong investigation.

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance had investigated claims that Prudential was involved in the sale of MyTerm life insurance policies to Wells Fargo customers without their knowledge or consent, one of a string of sales practices scandals that rocked the bank in 2016. In December of that year, Prudential suspended its involvement in distributing the policies through Wells Fargo branches in the wake of the scandals.

The department concluded there was no evidence of improper activity by Prudential associated with the sales and marketing of those policies to Wells Fargo customers, it said in a statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence. No enforcement action against Prudential will be taken, the department said.

"There is no evidence that Prudential was involved in, had knowledge of, or reason to suspect, improper sales practices by Wells Fargo," the department stated.

Regulators worked to make sure that Prudential offered full remediation to all customers affected by the bank's actions, according to New Jersey's department. Spokespersons for Prudential did not immediately return an email inquiry.

New Jersey's announcement came in the wake of news that California regulators are seeking to suspend Wells Fargo bank licenses in the state over the bank's sale of insurance policies to customers without their permission.