Wells Fargo Terminates Employee Linked to Cornell Fraternity Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Wells Fargo has fired Diego Sarabia, one of seven men accused in a civil lawsuit of drugging and gang-raping a Cornell student. Investigation continues.
POLICY WIRE — Charlotte, United States — Wells Fargo has terminated the employment of Diego Sarabia, a former member of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University who is currently named in a civil lawsuit alleging the drugging and gang rape of a fellow student.
Sarabia, who had been employed by the financial institution in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2022, was dismissed following reports that the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office is weighing potential criminal charges against the seven men involved in the October 2024 incident.
The civil complaint, filed September 16 in New York County Supreme Court, alleges that the victim, identified as Jane Doe, was incapacitated at the Chi Phi house before being subjected to an hours-long assault. The lawsuit claims that after an initial assault, a message was sent to a Snapchat group inviting others to join, leading to a series of graphic abuses.
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Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten confirmed that his office has reopened the investigation to pursue a grand jury review, citing community pressure to revisit the case. Van Houten previously noted that criminal charges were not initially filed because the civil allegations differed from the victim’s 2024 statement to police, a claim disputed by the plaintiff’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra.
The lawsuit names seven fraternity members, the Chi Phi chapter, the national organization, and Cornell University as defendants. While attorneys for Scott Kretzschmar and Scott Norris have denied the allegations of sexual assault, Cornell officials maintain that they conducted a thorough Title IX investigation that resulted in various sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions.
Cornell Vice President for University Relations Kyle Kimball stated that the university supports the reopened criminal investigation and emphasized that the fraternity was closed in 2024. The school also highlighted a 2025 task force report which found that 35 percent of undergraduate women and 8 percent of undergraduate men at the university reported experiencing sexual assault.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
