JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in the United States, has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that they abruptly terminated the personal and business bank accounts of Dr. Joseph Mercola, a prominent doctor and vocal critic of the COVID vaccines.
Documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation shed light on this controversial move.
Dr. Mercola took to Twitter to announce the closure of his accounts, expressing his frustration at the lack of explanation provided by the banking company. "Chase bank has shut down our business bank accounts along with the accounts of my CEO and CFO, as well as their family members (including spouse and child). They've refused to provide any reason for doing so, the oldest account has been active for 18 years," Mercola stated.
Not only were the accounts of Mercola and his business terminated, but accounts linked to Mercola Market, a Florida-based retail health company owned by the doctor, were also reportedly shut down. This included the personal accounts of CEO Steven A. Rye, his wife, and CFO Amy Legaspi.
Legaspi, who was taken by surprise by the notification, claimed that Chase even alerted her young adult son that his accounts were "subject for closing." The CFO stated that she had no idea why her personal accounts were closed. Chase sent letters to Mercola Market on July 13, giving them until September 10 to shut down their accounts, while Rye, his wife, and Legaspi were instructed to cease all account operations by August 11.
The bank's letters to Mercola Market vaguely cited "unexpected activity on this or another Chase account" as the reason for the closure, without providing any further details. When Rye spoke to a Chase representative, he was informed that they were unable to disclose the reason for closing the accounts due to legal reasons. Rye also expressed concern that his children would be unable to open accounts with Chase in the future.
Rye believes that the closure of their accounts is directly linked to Dr. Mercola's controversial opinions. "He co-authored the best-selling book 'The Truth About COVID-19,' which exposed the likelihood that this virus was engineered in a laboratory funded by the NIH. He correctly predicted the vaccines would not prevent transmission or infection of COVID-19. He has been directly censored by the Biden administration and is being targeted by politically weaponized agencies," Rye explained.
In response to the allegations, a representative for Chase stated, "For privacy reasons, we can't discuss customer relationships, but we don't close accounts because of political affiliations, and we didn't do so in this case." The bank's statement raises questions about the motivations behind the account closures and the potential infringement on freedom of speech and expression.
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