US Dept of Justice "Operation Choke Point" - WTH?!? (1 Viewer)

[Jayrod]

Wikipedia Link

Washington Post Article

I just heard about this today at lunch with a friend who I do taxes for. He has started an online business that sells guns and ammo. The business is only about 18 months old, but he's got in running well in the black and netted about $5K profit in the second year while basically just working on it on the side. He's also very meticulous, has all of the proper licenses and does everything on the up and up. His is the simplest tax return I do every year because his records are so complete.

Anyway, apparently he was the target of an attack by the US Department of Justice and had his credit card merchant account shut down with ZERO warning. Literally went to run a clients credit card, got an error message, called the CC company and was told his account had been made inactive. He couldn't get a straight answer out of the CC company, but according to the gun forums he was on it was a very common thing during 2014 and the term "Operation Choke Point" was a known thing. He didn't even believe them at first until he did some online research.

Apparently the DOJ was going to the financial service providers and "convincing" them to lock out any clients who were involved in business activities they deemed at high risk for fraud and money laundering. Unfortunately for many, my buddy included, that was executed with no due process and no warning. And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

Not sure if any of you have heard of this or not, but if this isn't a sign that the federal government has too much power, I don't know what is. It is absolutely sick that someone who has done nothing wrong can have their cash flow interrupted with no warning and no due process. My buddy had reserves in place, but he lost sales because of it and it took him 2 months to even get some of the funds that had already been processed before the freeze. They basically held his money hostage just because they could and didn't like his business.

Welcome to the new America, everyone...Hope, Change and all that.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Wikipedia Link

Washington Post Article

I just heard about this today at lunch with a friend who I do taxes for. He has started an online business that sells guns and ammo. The business is only about 18 months old, but he's got in running well in the black and netted about $5K profit in the second year while basically just working on it on the side. He's also very meticulous, has all of the proper licenses and does everything on the up and up. His is the simplest tax return I do every year because his records are so complete.

Anyway, apparently he was the target of an attack by the US Department of Justice and had his credit card merchant account shut down with ZERO warning. Literally went to run a clients credit card, got an error message, called the CC company and was told his account had been made inactive. He couldn't get a straight answer out of the CC company, but according to the gun forums he was on it was a very common thing during 2014 and the term "Operation Choke Point" was a known thing. He didn't even believe them at first until he did some online research.

Apparently the DOJ was going to the financial service providers and "convincing" them to lock out any clients who were involved in business activities they deemed at high risk for fraud and money laundering. Unfortunately for many, my buddy included, that was executed with no due process and no warning. And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

Not sure if any of you have heard of this or not, but if this isn't a sign that the federal government has too much power, I don't know what is. It is absolutely sick that someone who has done nothing wrong can have their cash flow interrupted with no warning and no due process. My buddy had reserves in place, but he lost sales because of it and it took him 2 months to even get some of the funds that had already been processed before the freeze. They basically held his money hostage just because they could and didn't like his business.

Welcome to the new America, everyone...Hope, Change and all that.

AGAIN!?!?

 

[fantasycurse42]

Wikipedia Link

Washington Post Article

I just heard about this today at lunch with a friend who I do taxes for. He has started an online business that sells guns and ammo. The business is only about 18 months old, but he's got in running well in the black and netted about $5K profit in the second year while basically just working on it on the side. He's also very meticulous, has all of the proper licenses and does everything on the up and up. His is the simplest tax return I do every year because his records are so complete.

Anyway, apparently he was the target of an attack by the US Department of Justice and had his credit card merchant account shut down with ZERO warning. Literally went to run a clients credit card, got an error message, called the CC company and was told his account had been made inactive. He couldn't get a straight answer out of the CC company, but according to the gun forums he was on it was a very common thing during 2014 and the term "Operation Choke Point" was a known thing. He didn't even believe them at first until he did some online research.

Apparently the DOJ was going to the financial service providers and "convincing" them to lock out any clients who were involved in business activities they deemed at high risk for fraud and money laundering. Unfortunately for many, my buddy included, that was executed with no due process and no warning. And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

Not sure if any of you have heard of this or not, but if this isn't a sign that the federal government has too much power, I don't know what is. It is absolutely sick that someone who has done nothing wrong can have their cash flow interrupted with no warning and no due process. My buddy had reserves in place, but he lost sales because of it and it took him 2 months to even get some of the funds that had already been processed before the freeze. They basically held his money hostage just because they could and didn't like his business.

Welcome to the new America, everyone...Hope, Change and all that.

AGAIN!?!?

 

[Jayrod]

Sorry is this a Honda? I did a search, but got nothing.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

this is only the third time that I am hearing of this.

 

[Jayrod]

My computer went bananas when I tried to post the thread....looks like I clicked the "post" button a few extra times. My bad.

 

[bostonfred]

And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

the current administration frowns on escort services?

 

[Jayrod]

And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

the current administration frowns on escort services?

Yes, point out the illegal activity while ignoring the legal ones.

Kind of the point. Legal businesses were targeted with illegal ones due to preference of those in power.

But if your cool with that kind of thing, by all means continue to discuss the unimportant things.

 

[Ditka Butkus]

Is your friend a Muslim?

 

[Jayrod]

Is your friend a Muslim?

If he was, I doubt anything would have been done to him since we have King Barack HUSSEIN Obama!

(that was a joke for those of you who are sarcastically impared)

 

[Jayrod]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

 

[bostonfred]

And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

the current administration frowns on escort services?

Yes, point out the illegal activity while ignoring the legal ones.Kind of the point. Legal businesses were targeted with illegal ones due to preference of those in power.

But if your cool with that kind of thing, by all means continue to discuss the unimportant things.

the current administration frowns on online gambling?

 

[Jayrod]

And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

the current administration frowns on escort services?

Yes, point out the illegal activity while ignoring the legal ones.Kind of the point. Legal businesses were targeted with illegal ones due to preference of those in power.

But if your cool with that kind of thing, by all means continue to discuss the unimportant things.

the current administration frowns on online gambling?

I will gut you while you sleep.

 

[bostonfred]

And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

the current administration frowns on escort services?

Yes, point out the illegal activity while ignoring the legal ones.Kind of the point. Legal businesses were targeted with illegal ones due to preference of those in power.

But if your cool with that kind of thing, by all means continue to discuss the unimportant things.

the current administration frowns on online gambling?

I will gut you while you sleep.

the current administration frowns on that.

 

[TobiasFunke]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

Could you point me to a specific action taken by the federal government that you consider an attempt to shut down a perfectly legal; business venture? Because I clicked the links and I didn't see any specific allegations that amount to anything like that. Am I missing something?

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

And oddly enough it was targeted at activities the current administration frowned upon, like gun and ammo sales, escort services, online gambling and payday loans.

the current administration frowns on escort services?

Yes, point out the illegal activity while ignoring the legal ones.Kind of the point. Legal businesses were targeted with illegal ones due to preference of those in power.

But if your cool with that kind of thing, by all means continue to discuss the unimportant things.

the current administration frowns on online gambling?

I will gut you while you sleep.

the current administration frowns on that.

what if I place a bet on it?

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Yes I agree it is sickening if your buddy's business is on the up-and-up and all licenses, etc. are in order. Sucks for him and his customers. I'm assuming there's no legal recourse?

 

[psychobillies]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

You know the NSA is reading this right? Tread lightly my friend.

 

[bostonfred]

I think the main takeaway here is that we need to elect people who like hookers and gambling.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

Could you point me to a specific action taken by the federal government that you consider an attempt to shut down a perfectly legal; business venture? Because I clicked the links and I didn't see any specific allegations that amount to anything like that. Am I missing something?

Some details

A few more

 

[shader]

I'd be fine if the government banned online sellers of guns and ammo.

 

[Jayrod]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

Could you point me to a specific action taken by the federal government that you consider an attempt to shut down a perfectly legal; business venture? Because I clicked the links and I didn't see any specific allegations that amount to anything like that. Am I missing something?

Sorry, I'm an accountant and I forget that people don't automatically know what I know about how businesses run.

I'll use my friends business as an example. He runs a gun supply outlet that operates primarily online. He has done everything legally. He exclusively uses a credit card processing company to receive payments for the guns and equipment he sells.

The DOJ went to the credit card company and told them that they needed to shut down my friend's CC account and not allow for any more processing of credit cards. With no warning, the CC system was cut off and the sales stopped that day. For two weeks, there were no sales. Zero. And to top it off, the 2 days of processing that hadn't yet hit my friend's bank account were frozen as well. So my friend actually supplied guns to people and didn't see the money when he was supposed to (he said these took 2 months to get into his account).

Now lucky for him, my friend has a good cash reserve built up and was able to make sure his checks cleared and his bills stayed paid. Not all businesses have that luxury. Many businesses operate week to week on their cash flow. You cut off one week's worth of cash and suddenly the business can't make payments for product, then it has no inventory, then it has no sales, then it can't pay for rent and phones and internet service or whatever else it needs and then ruins the credit, defaults on a business loan, etc. It is real and businesses have been shut down by such things. All because the DOJ didn't like the sort of business he was in...a perfectly legal business, mind you.

 

[Jack White]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have."

That includes your guns and your business.

“ . . . when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government . . .”

 

[Jack White]

I'd be fine if the government banned online sellers of guns and ammo.

Why is that fine?

 

[Jayrod]

Yes I agree it is sickening if your buddy's business is on the up-and-up and all licenses, etc. are in order. Sucks for him and his customers. I'm assuming there's no legal recourse?

He got a call about a class action lawsuit, but he said he didn't want the hassle. Since he wasn't effected that much, he figures the time and energy spent wouldn't pay off so he declined.

 

[jonessed]

Any means neccesary to meet the agenda.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Pretty sure we had some discussions about this a few months ago.

 

[TobiasFunke]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

Could you point me to a specific action taken by the federal government that you consider an attempt to shut down a perfectly legal; business venture? Because I clicked the links and I didn't see any specific allegations that amount to anything like that. Am I missing something?

Some details

A few more

No specific business described as targeted for shutdown in either.

Look, it was bad policy to tell lenders that they should be wary of certain online industries in their entirety rather than evaluating the businesses on their own merits. The FDIC admitted as much when they shut the program down a couple months ago.

But it hardly rises to the level of targeting based on ideology. Look at that list of businesses- other than gun sales they're all in businesses that this administration has either been silent on or been more permissive than previous administrations.

 

[Jayrod]

Pretty sure we had some discussions about this a few months ago.

I figured, but something is wrong with the search function. Did they change something or something?

 

[Jayrod]

I guess no one has any comments for reals?

This is some sick stuff, IMO. I can't believe I never heard about this until now. Apparently this all went down a year ago. No one up in arms (pun intended), no outrage, nothing....just ho hum that the US Gov't is actually trying to shut down perfectly legal business ventures without any due process or oversight.

Seriously, nobody gives a crap?

Could you point me to a specific action taken by the federal government that you consider an attempt to shut down a perfectly legal; business venture? Because I clicked the links and I didn't see any specific allegations that amount to anything like that. Am I missing something?

Some details

A few more

No specific business described as targeted for shutdown in either.

Look, it was bad policy to tell lenders that they should be wary of certain online industries in their entirety rather than evaluating the businesses on their own merits. The FDIC admitted as much when they shut the program down a couple months ago.

But it hardly rises to the level of targeting based on ideology. Look at that list of businesses- other than gun sales they're all in businesses that this administration has either been silent on or been more permissive than previous administrations.

Kind of the point of this thread.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Here's the list:

• Ammunition Sales
• Cable Box De-scramblers
• Coin Dealers
• Credit Card Schemes
• Credit Repair Services
• Dating Services
• Debt Consolidation Scams
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Escort Services
• Firearms Sales
• Fireworks Sales
• Get Rich Products
• Government Grants
• Home-Based Charities
• Life-Time Guarantees
• Life-Time Memberships
• Lottery Sales
• Mailing Lists/Personal Info
• Money Transfer Networks
• On-line Gambling
• Payday Loans
• Pharmaceutical Sales
• Ponzi Schemes
• Pornography[10]
• Pyramid-Type Sales
• Racist Materials
• Surveillance Equipment
• Telemarketing
• Tobacco Sales
• Travel Clubs

Was flagging all of those other types of online businesses to banks just a cover to go at the two or three to which the administration supposedly is ideologically opposed? Come on.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

 

[TobiasFunke]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

That's my other question. But first I want to figure out why people think a lifelong smoker and admitted recreational drug user whose administration has been remarkably permissive regarding state rollbacks of drug laws is targeting those online industries for ideological reasons.

 

[Jayrod]

Here's the list:

• Ammunition Sales
• Cable Box De-scramblers
• Coin Dealers
• Credit Card Schemes
• Credit Repair Services
• Dating Services
• Debt Consolidation Scams
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Escort Services
• Firearms Sales
• Fireworks Sales
• Get Rich Products
• Government Grants
• Home-Based Charities
• Life-Time Guarantees
• Life-Time Memberships
• Lottery Sales
• Mailing Lists/Personal Info
• Money Transfer Networks
• On-line Gambling
• Payday Loans
• Pharmaceutical Sales
• Ponzi Schemes
• Pornography[10]
• Pyramid-Type Sales
• Racist Materials
• Surveillance Equipment
• Telemarketing
• Tobacco Sales
• Travel Clubs

Was flagging all of those other types of online businesses to banks just a cover to go at the two or three to which the administration supposedly is ideologically opposed? Come on.

So you are fine with shutting down all of those businesses credit card processing without due process? The majority of those are legitimate, legal businesses.

 

[Jayrod]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

That's my other question. But first I want to figure out why people think a lifelong smoker and admitted recreational drug user whose administration has been remarkably permissive regarding state rollbacks of drug laws is targeting those online industries for ideological reasons.

For me, it has nothing to do with whether it was ammo or whatever, merely that a business can get operations shut down like that with no warning, no investigation, nothing. Its an overstepping of authority.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

That's my other question. But first I want to figure out why people think a lifelong smoker and admitted recreational drug user whose administration has been remarkably permissive regarding state rollbacks of drug laws is targeting those online industries for ideological reasons.

For me, it has nothing to do with whether it was ammo or whatever, merely that a business can get operations shut down like that with no warning, no investigation, nothing. Its an overstepping of authority.

That's why it matters what the government said.

 

[Jayrod]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

Per the WAPO article:

"The general outline is the DOJ and bank regulators are putting the screws to banks and other third-party payment processors to refuse banking services to companies and industries that are deemed to pose a “reputation risk” to the bank. "

What exactly "putting the screws to" means, I'm not sure.

 

[jonessed]

Here's the list:

• Ammunition Sales
• Cable Box De-scramblers
• Coin Dealers
• Credit Card Schemes
• Credit Repair Services
• Dating Services
• Debt Consolidation Scams
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Escort Services
• Firearms Sales
• Fireworks Sales
• Get Rich Products
• Government Grants
• Home-Based Charities
• Life-Time Guarantees
• Life-Time Memberships
• Lottery Sales
• Mailing Lists/Personal Info
• Money Transfer Networks
• On-line Gambling
• Payday Loans
• Pharmaceutical Sales
• Ponzi Schemes
• Pornography[10]
• Pyramid-Type Sales
• Racist Materials
• Surveillance Equipment
• Telemarketing
• Tobacco Sales
• Travel Clubs

Was flagging all of those other types of online businesses to banks just a cover to go at the two or three to which the administration supposedly is ideologically opposed? Come on.

Why would the DOJ set up a program to flag legitimate industries at all? The banks bare the fraud risk if they choose to set up their accounts.

 

[B-Deep]

how much business does your friend do in a year to make that 5k?

if someone came up to me and said they were going to go through what i assume has to be a good bit of hassle and jump through quite a few bureaucratic hoops to set up an online guns and ammo store and projected to be clearing about $5000 a year i'd think they were insane or laundering money

 

[Kanil]

There was more outrage about them using this to kill porn.

Wait... OK now I'm pissed!

 

[TobiasFunke]

Here's the list:

• Ammunition Sales
• Cable Box De-scramblers
• Coin Dealers
• Credit Card Schemes
• Credit Repair Services
• Dating Services
• Debt Consolidation Scams
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Escort Services
• Firearms Sales
• Fireworks Sales
• Get Rich Products
• Government Grants
• Home-Based Charities
• Life-Time Guarantees
• Life-Time Memberships
• Lottery Sales
• Mailing Lists/Personal Info
• Money Transfer Networks
• On-line Gambling
• Payday Loans
• Pharmaceutical Sales
• Ponzi Schemes
• Pornography[10]
• Pyramid-Type Sales
• Racist Materials
• Surveillance Equipment
• Telemarketing
• Tobacco Sales
• Travel Clubs

Was flagging all of those other types of online businesses to banks just a cover to go at the two or three to which the administration supposedly is ideologically opposed? Come on.

So you are fine with shutting down all of those businesses credit card processing without due process? The majority of those are legitimate, legal businesses.

If that's what was happening I would not be fine with it.

But before we get to why you said that they did this because they frowned upon his business. I see no evidence of that at all, and in fact I see plenty of evidence to the contrary given that I sincerely doubt the administration is opposed to dating services and fireworks sales. The connection between those online businesses is likely not policy-based, but rather just the fact that fraud is more common in these. Doesn't that seem a lot more likely, given this list?

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

Per the WAPO article:

"The general outline is the DOJ and bank regulators are putting the screws to banks and other third-party payment processors to refuse banking services to companies and industries that are deemed to pose a “reputation risk” to the bank. "

What exactly "putting the screws to" means, I'm not sure.

The Bizzyblog link fleshes it out a little more.

Do we think the "fraud" thing is just a pretense or is there actually evidence of greater fraud in those industries?

 

[jonessed]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

Per the WAPO article:"The general outline is the DOJ and bank regulators are putting the screws to banks and other third-party payment processors to refuse banking services to companies and industries that are deemed to pose a reputation risk to the bank. "

What exactly "putting the screws to" means, I'm not sure.

It's a heavily regulated industry. It's not going to take much additional pressure to get them to jettison small business in niche industries. In many of the industries on that list they likely would have come to the same conclusion on their own.

 

[Jayrod]

how much business does your friend do in a year to make that 5k?

if someone came up to me and said they were going to go through what i assume has to be a good bit of hassle and jump through quite a few bureaucratic hoops to set up an online guns and ammo store and projected to be clearing about $5000 a year i'd think they were insane or laundering money

It was his first full year and he spent quite a bit to build up an inventory base.

 

[jonessed]

how much business does your friend do in a year to make that 5k?

if someone came up to me and said they were going to go through what i assume has to be a good bit of hassle and jump through quite a few bureaucratic hoops to set up an online guns and ammo store and projected to be clearing about $5000 a year i'd think they were insane or laundering money

Isn't that how a lot of small businesses start?

 

[TobiasFunke]

Here's the list:

• Ammunition Sales
• Cable Box De-scramblers
• Coin Dealers
• Credit Card Schemes
• Credit Repair Services
• Dating Services
• Debt Consolidation Scams
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Escort Services
• Firearms Sales
• Fireworks Sales
• Get Rich Products
• Government Grants
• Home-Based Charities
• Life-Time Guarantees
• Life-Time Memberships
• Lottery Sales
• Mailing Lists/Personal Info
• Money Transfer Networks
• On-line Gambling
• Payday Loans
• Pharmaceutical Sales
• Ponzi Schemes
• Pornography[10]
• Pyramid-Type Sales
• Racist Materials
• Surveillance Equipment
• Telemarketing
• Tobacco Sales
• Travel Clubs

Was flagging all of those other types of online businesses to banks just a cover to go at the two or three to which the administration supposedly is ideologically opposed? Come on.

Why would the DOJ set up a program to flag legitimate industries at all? The banks bare the fraud risk if they choose to set up their accounts.

It's FDIC's list. I don't really know how DOJ made its decisions about which specific banks to go after.

 

[Jayrod]

Here's the list:

• Ammunition Sales
• Cable Box De-scramblers
• Coin Dealers
• Credit Card Schemes
• Credit Repair Services
• Dating Services
• Debt Consolidation Scams
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Escort Services
• Firearms Sales
• Fireworks Sales
• Get Rich Products
• Government Grants
• Home-Based Charities
• Life-Time Guarantees
• Life-Time Memberships
• Lottery Sales
• Mailing Lists/Personal Info
• Money Transfer Networks
• On-line Gambling
• Payday Loans
• Pharmaceutical Sales
• Ponzi Schemes
• Pornography[10]
• Pyramid-Type Sales
• Racist Materials
• Surveillance Equipment
• Telemarketing
• Tobacco Sales
• Travel Clubs

Was flagging all of those other types of online businesses to banks just a cover to go at the two or three to which the administration supposedly is ideologically opposed? Come on.

Why would the DOJ set up a program to flag legitimate industries at all? The banks bare the fraud risk if they choose to set up their accounts.

It's FDIC's list. I don't really know how DOJ made its decisions about which specific ones to go after.

I can name one I know for a fact they went after. We can only speculate as to why.

 

[B-Deep]

how much business does your friend do in a year to make that 5k?

if someone came up to me and said they were going to go through what i assume has to be a good bit of hassle and jump through quite a few bureaucratic hoops to set up an online guns and ammo store and projected to be clearing about $5000 a year i'd think they were insane or laundering money

Isn't that how a lot of small businesses start?

i dunno

i can only imagine the pain of starting an online ammo business is a lot more than the pain of starting an online pillows-that-look-like-animals business

if after 2 years the profit is 5k i am curious how much merch he moved to make that 5k...

if he blew through a 1/2 a mil of hardware and profited 5k perhaps his numbers looked off to the feds

just thinking out loud

I am guessing there is something more here than just randomly shutting down online merchants...there is likely something else which got attention on him (even if it is something innocent)

none of which means they should be allowed to do it....just trying to figure out what might be happening

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

What is the government alleged to have said to the banks to cause them to do this?

Per the WAPO article:

"The general outline is the DOJ and bank regulators are putting the screws to banks and other third-party payment processors to refuse banking services to companies and industries that are deemed to pose a “reputation risk” to the bank. "

What exactly "putting the screws to" means, I'm not sure.

The Bizzyblog link fleshes it out a little more.

Do we think the "fraud" thing is just a pretense or is there actually evidence of greater fraud in those industries?

We'll probably find out some more after this afternoon.

The Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is having a hearing today with one of the higher ups at the FDIC on this very topic.

Congressional hearings can often turn into a huge waste of time if there is too much grandstanding, but since this has gotten very little media attention I'd expect the hearing to be more substantive than they sometimes are.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Pretty sure we had some discussions about this a few months ago.

I figured, but something is wrong with the search function. Did they change something or something?

Yes, they upgraded the board.