| JPM Chase Challenged on
Debanking & Epstein as FLA
Case Cited But OCC Says No Hearing
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
/ SOUTH
BRONX,
Jan 27– JPMorgan Chase's
apparent enabling of sex
trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein
and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well
as its "debanking," have been
formally raised by Fair
Finance Watch on November 24
to the US Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency,
opposing JPMC's applications
including to open eight
branches while closing in low
and moderate income
communities.
As
the US bank regulators
including the OCC under
Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould
move to limit public notice
and participation in review of
banks' applications for
approvals, and purport to take
seriously debanking and even
banks' enabling of sex
trafficking, this was a test.
On December 2,
the test was failed. The OCC
wrote: " Dear Mr. Lee: The OCC
has decided not to extend the
public comment period. Your
request for a public hearing
did not appropriately describe
the nature of issues or facts
to be presented in such a
hearing. Therefore, your
request for a public hearing
was denied."
On January
23, FFW filed:
Re: Timely
Comment on Branch Applications
and JPM Chase & debanking
(second comment after Nov
2025)
To Comptroller
Gould and To Whom it May
Concern at the
OCC:
On behalf
of Fair Finance Watch and in
my personal capacity there are
timely comments opposing
JPMorgan Chase NA's branch
applications listed below, all
submitted this month and
having comment periods running
through today January 23 or
later. These comments are
timely.
First,
note that in November FFW
commented to one including
about JPM Chase's debanking.
The OCC's response on December
2 was to say that no hearing
was necessary - and to do
nothing.
Today we are putting into the
record before the OCC the
complaint against Chase and
its CEO for debanking filed in
Florida including as to
Plaintiff 401 MEZZ VENTURE,
LLC is a limited liability
company organized in Delaware
with its principal place of
business in Florida. 4.
Plaintiff 401 NORTH WABASH
VENTURE, LLC is a limited
liability company organized in
Delaware with its principal
place of business in Florida.
5. Plaintiff THC MIAMI
RESTAURANT HOSPITALITY, LLC is
a limited liability company
organized in Delaware with its
principal place of business in
Florida. We
are re-requesting a
hearing. Here are the
pending branch applications we
are commenting on
Also for
the record on these and all
other JPM Chase applications
before the OCC, now and until
at least the end of the year:
JPM Chase has been exposed as
having enabled sex traffickers
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine
Maxwell, including a current
Congressional inquiry into
Suspicious Activity Reports it
should have filed by
didn't.
Also, on the
issue of debanking which the
OCC (and Comptroller) have
said they take so seriously,
for the record on these and
all other JPM Chase
applications, consider:
"Strike CEO Jack Mallers said
JPMorgan Chase closed his bank
accounts without a proper
explanation last month,
prompting concerns of
debanking of crypto CEOs.
"Last month, J.P. Morgan Chase
threw me out of the bank,"
Mallers wrote on social media
platform X on Sunday. "It was
bizarre. My dad has been a
private client there for 30+
years." When Mallers inquired
why his accounts were closed,
he said JPMorgan’s only
response was: "We aren’t
allowed to tell you.'"
Despite the
Florida case, the OCC on
January 26 wrote to FFW:
"January 27, 2026 Sent
by email to
lee@fairfinancewatch.org
Matthew Lee, Esq., Executive
Director Fair Finance Watch
Post Office Box 10013,
Chinatown Station New York,
New York 10013 Re: Branch
Filings JPMorgan Chase Bank,
National Association,
Columbus, Ohio, Charter Number
8 Control Numbers:
2026-BranchNew-344538;
2026-BranchNew-344540;
2026-BranchNew-344542;
2026-BranchNew-344544;
2026-BranchNew-344553;
2026-BranchNew-344554;
2026-BranchNew-344559;
2026-BranchNew-344560;
2026-BranchNew-344564;
2026-BranchNew-344591 Dear Mr.
Lee: The Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency
(OCC) acknowledges receipt of
your email of January 23,
2026, transmitting comments
regarding the above referenced
branch filings. In your
emails, you request that the
OCC extend the public comment
period and hold a public
hearing on the branch
applications. The OCC has
decided not to extend the
public comment period. Your
request for a public hearing
did not appropriately describe
the nature of issues or facts
to be presented in such a
hearing. Therefore, your
request for a public hearing
was denied."
This is
boilerplate. The OCC doesn't
actually care about - or
believe in the existence of -
debanking at all, it seems.
Watch this site.
See,
American Banker, BankThink:
"The FDIC is taking the
'community' out of CRA
enforcement," by Matthew R.
Lee, here.
Again, the only enforcement
mechanism of CRA is its
consideration on applications
for deposit facilities:
branches. A hearing is
requested, timely opposition
made.
Thank you for
your attention, /s/ Matthew
Lee, Esq. Executive Director
Fair Finance Watch
Watch this site.
***
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