Consumer complaint received 2023-03-22
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NY
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
I am writing to express my deep concern about the discrimination I have experienced at the hands of Capital One Bank in response to Operation Choke Point. This initiative has had a devastating impact on my personal and professional life, and I am reaching out to you in the hope that you can take action to address this injustice. 

As you may be aware, Operation Choke Point was a federal program targeting certain industries and individuals deemed " high-risk '' for fraud and money laundering. While the program was officially terminated in XXXX, its effects are still being felt by many individuals and businesses, including myself. 

Specifically, I have been unfairly targeted by Capital One Bank which has used Operation Choke Point as an excuse to discriminate against me as an individual. Despite having a solid financial history and no evidence of any illegal activity, I have been denied access to banking services and subjected to a great deal of scrutiny and suspicion. 
In XXXX of XXXX, I opened business checking accounts and one escrow account on behalf of the company I work for, a financialtechnologycompany. As an XXXX and the XXXX of the company, one of my responsibilities is selecting partner banks to hold customer funds. On XXXX, XXXX, all of my company 's business accounts were abruptly closed, and {>= $1,000,000} went missing without warning. 
Our business banker didn't even reach out to me until XX/XX/XXXX when he texted me " What happened with the account? '' The next day I received an email stating, " Capital One has observed activity on a past or present Capital One account that is not consistent with anticipated account activity based on Capital One 's account opening and ongoing due diligence. '' Furthermore, my colleague received the same email with slightly different language. The email to my colleague stated, " Well be closing your account ending in XXXX and XXXX because Capital One has discovered adverse past or present legal action involving an individual or entity associated with the account. '' A similar action was take when the company I'm currently working for was asked to remove me as a signer for our business accounts in XXXX. Again, no explanation was given to me or my employer. 
I believe this discrimination is directly related to Operation Choke Point because in XXXX I was XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX licensed by the New York Department of Financial Services. During my time as this check cashing company, we were told Capital One made a business decision to exit the servicing of Check Casher clients. A lot has been written and exposed in connection to Operation Choke Point but ultimately, Capital One had major anti-money laundering deficiencies in their compliance program and decided it was easier to end its relationship with these " high-risk '' companies rather than deal with the threats and scrutiny of the US Gov . At this same time my personal credit card and IRA were closed without warning as well. 
That is a business decision and I can understand the risk/reward tradeoff here. What is not OK is that myself, as an individual, has been blacklisted by Capital One. I have no criminal history and no longer work for the check casher. 
This discrimination has had a significant impact on my ability to conduct business and maintain my personal financial stability. I have been forced to seek out alternative banking options, which have been time-consuming and expensive. Moreover, the stress and anxiety caused by this discrimination have taken a toll on my mental health and overall well-being. Even worse, is the abrupt closing of our accounts has caused the board and co-CEOs of my current company to worry about me as a liability. I could lose my job because of this. 

I am writing to demand action from the FDIC to address this injustice. It is unacceptable that innocent individuals like myself with no history of adverse past or present legal action are targeted and discriminated against. I urge you to investigate this matter thoroughly and take steps to hold the bank accountable for its actions. 

I appreciate your attention and look forward to your prompt response. 

Sincerely,

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation