Terrorist, or CPA? A little known feature of the Patriot Act bites an American citizen on the ass. The story:
One of my oldest friends is a New Orleans resident and property owner who happened to be in California when the storm hit. He's fine but is trying to put his life back in order and deal with the destruction of some of his properties and his sudden total lack of income.
He just recieved a letter from his New Orleans accountant (and friend) in which this CPA lets everyone know that they are OK and that they were back in business, having set up an office-in-exile in neighboring Alabama. The letter had some amazing information in it, which he forwarded to me.
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At the end of the email, it describes this guy's run-in with the Patriot Act when trying to set up a new/temporary business office in Alabama:
Greetings to our clients, colleagues & friends,
As we have been setting up our temporary home and office in Daphne, Alabama, we have received many telephone calls and e-mails concerned about our safety. The good news is that Debbie and I are safe in Alabama and our daughters are safe at college in New York and in Virginia.
Unfortunately we were out of town when Katrina decided to visit New Orleans so we could make no hurricane preparations.
While we were gone, Katrina brought 3 ft of flood waters into our home from the West Esplanade canal. For those of you who have never had this experience, I do not recommend it. Last week we visited our home and were appalled at the destruction to virtually everything that we owned. Although we were able to salvage most of our Jazz & Heritage posters hanging high on the walls, everything else was covered with water, mud, mold and mildew.
Yes, we have insurance but we have found out that many of our most precious possessions are excluded from coverage.
Our office on the 14th floor of the Heritage Plaza is high and dry but the building has been locked down due to wind-driven rain and toxic mold. I was able to briefly gather a computer, some files, and, most importantly, install software that will allow me to remotely access the main computer. Although we may not be able to return to the office for 60 or more days, we are able to function to a remarkable degree from Daphne, Alabama.
We will be sending a series of newsletters to you with attachments containing valuable sources of information, some forms that are needed to file claims, contact information for financial assistance, useful tax information and other items which you may find to be very helpful. We intend to be a clearinghouse for all information about casualty losses, insurance companies, and financial institutions. Some of the information will come from extensive research and some from our painful personal experience. For example, do you know what the Patriot Act contains?
We opened 2 bank accounts at a large bank with offices throughout the southern United States. After accepting our substantial (for us) deposits, we were informed that the funds would be impounded for 21 days. I have deposited an official check from our bank in New Orleans and expected to receive immediate credit for the funds. The checks cleared in 5 days and still the bank insisted on leaving us penniless. The American Banking Association, in conjunction with the Federal government, had asked all member banks to suspend the requirement that all new accounts will be frozen for 21 days under the Patriot Act. The bank in question merely told me that they had to be sure that I was not a terrorist. I tried to explain that I was only a Katrina evacuee right now but that could surely escalate to a higher level if they did not allow me to access my funds. While I intended to call Wolf Blitzer at CNN, I called the Alabama Attorney General's office and was transferred to the Office of Financial Institutions. They demanded that the bank release my funds and the local bank refused. It took a call from the Attorney General's office to the bank CEO to release my funds. You didn't know that could happen, did you? Neither did I.
I'd like to see this get some wider attention... were there a lot of known Al Qaida cells in New Orleans or something? The Patriot Act can be used to freeze an American citizen's assets without cause or any due process? If anyone wanted to follow up on this I may be able to get people in touch with this man.