Operation Chokepoint - Necessary Oversight or an Attack on Legitimate Businesses?

Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group Teleforum

Operation Chokepoint is a new initiative of the Obama administration led by the Department of Justice, the FDIC, and the CFPB. It aims to pressure certain industries, primarily payday lending and online lending, by increasing oversight requirements to such levels that it becomes unprofitable for the banks to work with the third-party payment processors who enable these targeted industries to process payments. Other industries that may be targeted by the program include firearms/fireworks sales, ammunition sales, “As Seen on TV” products, gambling, home-based charities, pornography, online pharmaceuticals, and sweepstakes. Our experts will shed light on the little-known program, and offer a thorough discussion of the legal and policy implications.

• Charles J. Cooper, Partner, Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
• Iain Murray, Vice President for Strategy, the Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Prof. Todd J. Zywicki, Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law

Operation Chokepoint is a new initiative of the Obama administration led by the Department of Justice, the FDIC, and the CFPB. It aims to pressure certain industries, primarily payday lending and online lending, by increasing oversight requirements to such levels that it becomes unprofitable for the banks to work with the third-party payment processors who enable these targeted industries to process payments. Other industries that may be targeted by the program include firearms/fireworks sales, ammunition sales, “As Seen on TV” products, gambling, home-based charities, pornography, online pharmaceuticals, and sweepstakes. Our experts will shed light on the little-known program, and offer a thorough discussion of the legal and policy implications.

• Charles J. Cooper, Partner, Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
• Iain Murray, Vice President for Strategy, the Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Prof. Todd J. Zywicki, Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law

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