Chase Bank has reportedly sent letters to hundreds of porn performers informing them that their bank accounts will be shut down by mid-May.

Hundreds of letters went out to adult industry performers informing them, “We recently reviewed your account and determined that it will be closing on May 11, 2014,” according to Perez Hilton who posted a photo of the letter (below):

[Photo via Perez Hilton.com]

The letter offers the client an apology for the inconvenience and instructs them to cancel all future automatic deposits and withdrawals.

According to Jezebel:



Sex work is never specifically mentioned, but — as Kitty Stryker points out at The Frisky — Chase has a dubious history of discriminating against people in the adult industry (and even people who just do work that’s related to sexuality). Last year, for instance, Chase refused to process payments for Lovability, a company that sells condoms and promotes female sexual empowerment, because condoms are “adult-oriented material” and thus a “reputational risk.” After Lovability CEO Tiffany Gaines engaged in a high-profile protest against the company, the bank agreed to process Lovability’s payments — but, notably, not to remove condoms from the “prohibited adult” category. Gaines responded to this decision on xoJane: “Chase’s ability to pass judgment calls on what we can buy and sell is a breach of everyone’s rights… We cannot allow any large corporations like Chase bank to get away with governing our ability to take responsibility for our sexual health.” A month after this, former softcore porn producer Marc L. Greenberg sued Chase for refusing to underwrite a loan for “moral reasons.” Greenberg approached the bank for help refinancing one of his properties; although he had an annual income of $500,000 and a net worth of $10 million, his request was ignored for four months. Finally, a high-ranking official at the bank told him that his loan application had been refused due to “JPMorgan’s disapproval of plaintiff’s former source of income and occupation as an owner of a television production company that produced television programs that dealt with the subject of human sexuality.” It doesn’t matter if the money is legally earned: if it has anything to do with sex, Chase views it as sordid.

Teagan Presley confirmed to XBIZ that her personal account was one of the ones shut down:



I got a letter and it was like please cancel all transactions, please fix your automatic pay account and make sure everything’s taken care of by May 11. 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. Even though I don’t use my account, it’s my personal account that I’ve had since I was 18, when it was Washington Mutual before Chase 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 — Teagan Presley™ (@MsTeagan) April 21, 2014

If the allegations are true, should banks have the right to deny people access to their services for purely political or “moral” reasons?