Senate

‘Monopoly man’ crashes former Equifax CEO’s Senate hearing

A woman representing a consumer advocacy group dressed as Rich Uncle Pennybags from the Monopoly board game and crashed the former Equifax CEO’s Senate hearing on Wednesday.

Dressed in a top-hat, bushy mustache and monocle, Amanda Werner, arbitration campaign manager for Public Citizen, was visible over Richard Smith’s left shoulder in the Senate Banking Committee’s live webcast of his testimony on the company’s recent massive security breach.

Smith testified to the panel about the cyberattack on Equifax, which exposed the personal information of an estimated 145.5 million Americans, including Social Security numbers, names and birthdates. 

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Lawmakers this week are also grilling the CEO of Wells Fargo, which is under investigation for fraudulent sales practices including the unauthorized creation of up to 3.5 million customer accounts.

In a statement, Public Citizen condemned forced arbitration clauses that it says have allowed companies like Equifax to take advantage of consumers and avoid punishment, comparing them to a “Get out of jail free” card.

“Make no mistake: Arbitration is a rigged game, one that the bank nearly always wins,” Werner said. “Shockingly, the average consumer forced to arbitrate with Wells Fargo was ordered to pay the bank nearly $11,000. Bank lobbyists and their allies in Congress are trying to overturn the CFPB’s rule so they can continue to rip off consumers with impunity.”

—Updated at 12:16 p.m.

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