SEC Fines Wachovia For Cheating Investors

[excerpt] As the housing market weakened in 2006 and 2007, the transactions helped Wachovia avoid losses on assets that had declined in value, the Securities and Exchange Commission said, adding that the victims included a Zuni Indian tribal pension plan.

Wachovia has since been taken over by Wells Fargo, a unit of which settled with the SEC by agreeing to pay a fine of $4.45 million and to give up allegedly ill-gotten gains of $6.75 million. Much of that money will be returned to investors who were harmed, the SEC said. Wells Fargo neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.