Today (May 19), news broke that Wells Fargo allegedly held fake job interviews with people of color even though hiring managers had no intentions of offering them a position.

Former executive Joe Bruno handled the wealth management division for the bank’s Jacksonville, Florida corporate offices. Bruno told The New York Times that he was fired after bringing up the situation to his bosses. The incident reportedly happened last summer as retaliation for addressing the corrupt claims.

According to the outlet, the former executive told his superiors that the “fake interviews” were “inappropriate, morally wrong, ethically wrong.”

Sources say that Wells Fargo employees were instructed to recruit “diverse” candidates, but these applicants never actually had a shot. Reports added that the company wanted to appear as though they promoted a healthy work environment that supported all backgrounds so that the bank would not face issues with government regulators.

Wells Fargo spokesperson Raschelle Burton denied the claims, saying, “To the extent that individual employees are engaging in the behavior as described by The New York Times, we do not tolerate it.”

Last month, New York Mayor Eric Adams also called the financial institution out for discrimination. The Mayor said that the bank purposely rejected a large percentage of Black applicants who applied to be homeowners, while applications of white people were widely approved.

“These disparate mortgage practices, layered upon a checkered history of steering homeowners of color into subprime mortgages, rejecting mortgages in redlined neighborhoods, and numerous outstanding consent decrees pertaining to mortgage practices, require a swift response by both your bank and stakeholders,” he said in a statement.

Mayor Adams also said the city would no longer open accounts with the bank due to their alleged discriminatory practices.

“In light of this persisting track record of discrimination, New York City will not be opening any new depository accounts with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. as we continue to investigate these troubling findings,” Adams’ statement read.