DOJ accused of blocking legal gun shops, other businesses from banking.

[The Legion]

Mike Schuetz operates a small gun shop in northern Wisconsin called Hawkins Guns. In November, just before one of his peak selling times, his local credit union notified him his account needed to be closed. 

"The bank manager said they made a mistake, and they were not supposed to open accounts for those people involved in high-risk industries, which the gun industry and ammunition industry is one of those," Schuetz said. 

 

 

It turned out there was a list created by a Justice Department program called Operation Choke Point. The list equates legal gun sellers like Schuetz with escort services, Ponzi schemes, people who sell cable TV de-scramblers -- and at least 30 other industries. 

The program, which is facing tough questions in Congress, intimidates banks with the threat of heightened scrutiny and increased audits if accounts are maintained in those industries. 

Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said Operation Choke Point began as a means of combating fraudulent businesses -- but evolved into an arbitrary list of businesses targeted by bureaucrats in the DOJ and banking regulators purely on moral grounds, backed by no legislation 

"What they've done is they put short-term lenders out of business, gun dealers out of business, ammunition manufacturers out of business. Because in America, if you can't bank, you can't do business," Duffy said. 

In northern Wisconsin, Schuetz became suspicious that something strange was happening after his issue with the local credit union. So he concealed an audio recorder and visited his credit union. 

A manager and then a regional manager told Schuetz the credit union wanted his business, but he had indeed been placed on a list of "high risk" industries. 

"We're really not anti-gun as a company but our hands are tied, and I feel horrible about this. I didn't sleep last night," regional manager Troy Ewer said. 

Fox News found several more businesses -- from payment processors to ammunition dealers to pawn shop owners to short-term lenders -- who all had their bank accounts closed. In response to an inquiry from Fox News, a spokesman for the DOJ wrote, "We do not target businesses operating within the bounds of the law, and we have no interest in pursuing or discouraging lawful conduct." 

Duffy said, "That's a bald-faced lie." 

Fox News was provided a DOJ memo in reference to short-term or payday lenders that seems to suggest an indifference to harming legal businesses. "Although we recognize the possibility that banks may have therefore decided to stop doing business with legitimate lenders, we do not believe that such decisions should alter our investigative plans," Michael Blume, director of the department's Consumer Protection Branch, wrote. 

Brian Wise, with the U.S. Consumer Coalition, says there are hundreds and even thousands of businesses across the nation who have had bank accounts closed, and they may not even know their bank was intimidated by Operation Choke Point. "This is one of the greatest abuses of power that the country has never heard of," Wise said. 

The businesses owners who spoke to Fox News say they have been able to find alternative bank accounts, even Mike Schuets. However, Duffy thinks those accounts will only stay open until federal investigators scrutinize the alternative banks. 

"They might be able to get banked for a short time, but once that bank goes through its next examination, Hawkins Guns might find itself without a bank," he said.  

Schuetz was told by his local credit union, after an overhaul, they may be able to accommodate his business in February. However, he says he would have lost his business if he didn't find somewhere to bank between November and February.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/15/doj-accused-blocking-legal-gun-shops-other-businesses-from-banking/

[rugerla1]

Wow, that is messed up!

[Ugly]

They've been at this for awhile now. Another reason people should be in prison!

[hipower]

They've been at this for awhile now. Another reason a lot of the Tax, DOJ, Senate, and the AG people should be in prison!

 

Corrected your statement. lol

[Moped]

Seems like the actions of a tyranical government to me.

[bersaguy]

I think  the DOJ and AG have all but proven they don't plan on giving up trying to get the guns under their control and not ours. They just have not got anyone smart enough to figure out how to get passed that one little simple 2nd Amendment. Our Forefathers were smart enough to see what possibly may happen in the future and gave the people a way to protect themselves. Many of our so- called elected have said that the  people that wrote the Constitution where not scholars and were not thinking right about this Country's Future when they wrote it.  

 

in all reality that is exactly what the Forefathers were thinking. I am guessing that many of our forefathers have been rolling over in their graves at what our great country has become because of politicians and the people who vote these people into office...........jmho

[Grand Torino]

 

 

 "Although we recognize the possibility that banks may have therefore decided to stop doing business with legitimate lenders, we do not believe that such decisions should alter our investigative plans," Michael Blume, director of the department's Consumer Protection Branch, wrote.

The Obozo led government doesn't give a damn about legitimate lenders if they don't follow the liberal line....

[waynesan]

Looks like there has been a resolution to this situation:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/29/fdic-retreats-on-operation-choke-point/

 

In what seems to be a retreat from its Operation Choke Point initiative, the FDIC has announced new regulatory guidance that instructs banks to judge their relationships with their customers on a case-by-case basis, rather than refusing to provide banking services to entire categories of industries. From the Press Release:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a Financial Institution Letter today encouraging supervised institutions to take a risk-based approach in assessing individual customer relationships, rather than declining to provide banking services to entire categories of customers without regard to the risks presented by an individual customer or the financial institution’s ability to manage the risk.

[JayC]

This is only the FDIC, FINCEN which is a department in the DOJ is still pushing the party line on Operation Chokepoint.

 

Looks like there has been a resolution to this situation:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/29/fdic-retreats-on-operation-choke-point/