JP Morgan Chase has reportedly started closing down bank accounts belonging to hundreds of porn stars.
Chase, a subsidiary of JP Morgan Chase, sent out letters to the actors informing them their accounts were in the process of being shut down.
EXCLUSIVE Porn Stars Getting The Shaft From Chase Bank! AGAIN!! 100s of Accounts Closed?! http://t.co/qh8Qijm5hM
The letters don’t appear to give any formal reason for the action, but performer Teagan Presley said Chase told her the decision had been made as she was an infamous figure in the adult business.
Join me tonight for some naughty fun at @hollywoodofct @RockRoyaltyClub
She provided details on Twitter last week:
Thank you for @Chase for closing my personal acct that Ive had since I was 18yrs old.I was w/ Washington mutual before you bought them out
@chase told me I was an infamous figure in the adult business&thats reason why they closed it.So infamous I pay my utilities&kids gym class
I can understand if I had some checks that bounced or if I wrote checks that bounced, or anything like that, or I was charging stuff to a lot of adult companies, but I just don't have anything like that on my account.
Fellow porn star Layton Benton also told TMZ she only learnt her bank account had been closed when she tried to take money out of an ATM and was declined.
@imDakotaSkye @DirectorJoshua @PerezHilton @Chase they closed my account too.
She said the bank had told her it was closing her account because “it’s a risk,” but did not provide any further information.
Vice News has reported there is now some suggestion the clampdown may be part of the Department of Justice's "Operation Choke Point", aimed at cutting off fraudsters and scammers' access to banks.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, American Banking Association CEO Frank Keating said the DOJ was “asking banks to identify customers who may be breaking the law or simply doing something government officials don't like".
