American Express has agreed to pay approximately $230 million to settle allegations of deceptive marketing practices and resolve a federal wire fraud investigation. The settlement includes $138 million related to providing inaccurate tax advice and promoting non-existent tax benefits, primarily targeting small and midsize businesses. The company will pay a $77.7 million criminal fine and forfeit $60.7 million in revenue linked to the fraudulent sales. These practices, which ended in 2021, led to the termination of around 200 employees. American Express' disputed sales involved its Premium Wire service, and the company previously paid $15 million in a 2023 OCC settlement. Separately, Vanguard has agreed to pay $106.4 million to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state regulators over misleading statements about capital gains distributions and tax consequences for investors in its target-date retirement funds. The violations stemmed from a 2020 change in minimum investment requirements that triggered $130 billion in redemptions, leading to large taxable distributions for remaining investors. Vanguard also faced a $40 million class action settlement and an $800,000 FINRA fine in prior years. The SEC settlement will compensate affected investors, and Vanguard neither admitted nor denied the charges.