CEO says bank lectured him on the gun business
A Scottsdale gun manufacturer has its revenue flowing again after what the CEO says was a run-in with Bank of America.
Joe Sirochman is the owner and CEO of American Spirit Arms, which manufactures and sells high-end rifles. During the recent nationwide spike in gun sales, Sirochman says his firm's online sales "skyrocketed."
Due to the sudden increase in revenue, Sirochman tells KFYI News that Bank of America began putting his deposits on hold out of concern that they might be fraudulent. The bank told him that the deposits would be released after 48 hours.
But according to Sirochman, "48 hours turned into another 48 hours, which turned into a week, then two weeks." He says his company was in a pinch because it needed that revenue to operate and to pay its own bills.
Sirochman called Bank of America again to complain, and ended up talking to a manager who told him the bank had concerns about his company's product. "It's because we sell guns and parts on the internet, and they believe we shouldn't be selling guns and parts on the internet," he said.
Sirochman says he was steamed. "I flipped out... We have all the proper licensing in place. A company can't just make up its own rules on federal law."
The CEO posted a short description of his travails on his company's Facebook page. "It went viral," he says. "I didn't intend for it to go viral, I was just telling what happened." He says he's received e-mails detailing similar problems between Bank of America and other gun and parts dealers.
But as soon as the word got out, he says, Bank of America released his funds. Sirochman has now moved most of his business to a locally-owned bank, and intends to end his relationship with Bank of America as soon as all of the transactions on that account have cleared.
His website: www.americanspiritarms.com
