NEW YORK – JP Morgan Chase has reportedly ordered the closure of hundreds of bank accounts registered to the names of people who work in adult entertainment, sparking outrage and confusion across the industry.
Chase bank, a subsidiary of U.S. giant JP Morgan Chase, began sending out letters earlier this month to the entertainers, according to CNBC, informing them their accounts will cease on May 11.
The letter, which has been posted on social media by several of the industry names involved, says the shutdown was a result of a ‘review’ and apologizes for any inconvenience, however gives no further explanation.
Pornographic actress Teagan Presley, who has a masturbatory device modeled from her body, told adult industry blog XBiz News a Chase employee said the reason for the termination was because she was in the ‘adult business’.
Presley, 28, said she has had the same Chase account since she was 18, that it remains in her legal name, Ashley Ann Erickson, and is only used for personal reasons
‘I called them and they told me that because I am, I guess, public and am recognizable in the adult business, they’re closing my account,’ she told the site.
Presley said Chase also intend to close her husband’s account, and that they were told it would not be possible to open another with the bank.
The letter reiterates that the terms and conditions of a Chase account state that ‘either of us may close your account at any time, without notice and without a reason’.
Presley later posted on Twitter: ‘Thank you for @Chase for closing my personal account that I’ve had since I was 18 years old. I was with Washington Mutual before you bought them out.
‘It’s just ridiculous cause I don’t do business with that account. I only pay my house bills with it. That’s why it’s personal.’
The move has come as a surprise, given the adult entertainment industry generated close to $5 billion in revenue last year in the United States, according to Economy Watch.
There is speculation the Department of Justice triggered the clampdown as part of a targeted effort to shut down certain industries by preventing them access to banking services, which they have called Operation Choke Point.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed last Thursday, American Banking Association CEO Frank Keating wrote that the Justice Department is ‘telling bankers to behave like policemen and judges’.
‘Operation Choke Point is asking banks to identify customers who may be breaking the law or simply doing something government officials don’t like,’ Keating wrote.
‘Banks must then ‘choke off’ those customers’ access to financial services, shutting down their accounts.’
Among the others to be caught up in the snafu is up-and-coming porn star Dakota Skye, who Tweeted her frustration.
Tegan Avluv said her account was being foreclosed as well, calling the move discrimination because the work that she does is legal.
‘If it’s a legal job then discrimination shouldn’t be allowed. At all,’ she wrote to blogger Perez Hilton, who first published one of the Chase letters.
Leyton Benton, also an industry name, told TMZ her account was shut earlier this month, April 11, and she found out only when her ATM was declined.
She told the site Chase told her she was a ‘risk’ and wouldn’t further elaborate.
Chase bank has not commented on the situation.
Comments are closed.