In a recent wave of unexpected closures, JP Morgan Chase has terminated a number of bank accounts associated with Florida-based health retailer, Mercola Market, along with the personal accounts of its employees and their families. The firm’s owner, Dr. Joseph Mercola, is known for his criticism of COVID-19 vaccines and promotion of natural health.
The exact reasons behind these abrupt terminations remain undisclosed. However, numerous employees speculate that these moves may be politically-driven, triggered by Dr. Mercola’s overtly dissenting stance on the public health narrative around COVID-19.
Amid hardships brought about by the abrupt closure, one employee, CFO Amalia Legaspi, has been left scrambling to find means to send funds to her bedridden husband in the Philippines suffering from dementia, while accommodating college expenses for her son, Florida Voice reported.
Initial responses from the multinational bank to inquiries were cryptic, mentioning that the reasons behind the terminations cannot be revealed due to “legal reasons.” Yet, suggestions for submitting paperwork for reconsideration popped up in a voicemail from a Chase representative, leaving account holders in a state of confusion and bewilderment.
Despite the growing outcry from disgruntled account holders, Chase continues its silence. This fiasco brings troublesome indications of potential prejudice based on personal beliefs, as suggested by Mercola Market’s CEO Steven Rye. He added that Chase’s decision to bar his children from holding bank accounts in the future was particularly hard to digest.
Rye’s concerns add fuel to an emerging debate about the potential role of banking providers as arbiters of public discourse, a problem that will get all the more worse if CBDCs are allowed to proliferate.
