BAC Subject to Increasing Scrutiny: Senator Warren Reportedly Calling For DOJ Criminal Probe Over Violations of Anti-Money Laundering, Sanctions Laws; Securities Class Action Filed -- HBSS

PR Newswire

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 14, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee) issued a statement reacting to Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) resolution of serious enforcement actions, calling it a "slap on the wrist" fine considering the seriousness of the bank's violations.

Class Action

On October 29, 2026, CNBC reported that the Senator is urging the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into the bank and its executives after the bank admitted it willfully violated federal anti-money-laundering laws.  The report also said Senator Warren demanded that the Department say by November 12 whether it has already investigated the conduct and, if not, whether it plans to.

The latest news follows the filing of a securities class action lawsuit and supports national securities litigation law firm Hagens Berman's continuing investigation into legal claims that, as a result of its admissions and other conduct, Bank of America (and certain senior executives) also violated the federal securities laws. The firm urges investors with substantial losses to submit their trading information.

Case Overview & Summary of Allegations

The securities class action lawsuit alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts regarding Bank of America's compliance controls and regulatory risk exposure. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose that:

  1. Deficient AML & BSA Compliance Controls: Bank of America maintained deficient Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) monitoring systems, underresourcing compliance functions in favor of revenue generation.
  2. Underreported Suspicious Transactions: The Bank failed to detect, track, or report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), including over $1 billion tied to high-risk illicit finance.
  3. Regulatory & Financial Exposure: As a result of these failures, Bank of America faced immense regulatory enforcement actions and multi-billion-dollar penalties, making its prior statements regarding regulatory compliance, risk management, and internal controls materially false and misleading.

The Disclosure & Market Impact

On October 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, FinCEN, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced landmark enforcement actions requiring Bank of America to pay over $1.2 billion in penalties for widespread BSA/AML failures and backlog issues.

Following this disclosure, Bank of America's stock price fell sharply by over 4.8%, closing at $51.39 per share on October 14, 2026, wiping out billions of dollars in market value and causing substantial damages to shareholders.

What Can BAC Investors Do?

If you purchased Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) shares during the Class Period (August 1, 2025 – October 13, 2026) and suffered losses, you may move the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff no later than December 15, 2026. A Lead Plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

"We're focused on the apparent disparity between the bank's assurances and the Treasury's revelations," said Reed Kathrein, a Hagens Berman partner.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Bank of America should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email BAC@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman's team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. 

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.

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SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP