Teveia Barnes – California DFI Commissioner

This is the way that I want the regulators to be…

I want organizations like the DFI of California to be looking out for the little guy I want them making sure that nefarious people don’t abuse our ignorance to take advantage of us I want them making sure that financial deals are fair and honest.

I want vigilant servants of the law like Paul Clayton to stand up for us, make sure that financial institutions act honestly and in the best-interest of their customers. I want them to make sure that there is no money laundering. I want them to make sure that there is no predatory lending to the old, the poor, or the disadvantaged. I want them to make sure that people who were fraudulently loaned money are not victimized twice by being foreclosed on despite paying back their loans because it is more profitable for the banks to put families on the street. And if any of these things did happen, I want organizations like the DFI to viciously go after the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Oh. Wait. That happened. And, … Oh. Wait. The DFI didn’t.

What they do instead is conduct a ill-informed, lazy attack on companies that have been doing their damnedest to bring themselves in line with regulatory requirements.

Why ill-informed? Because the Bitcoin Foundation is a non-profit organization that is not in the business of money transfer as they were (kind of) accused. On the face of it, it seems that the DFI simply doesn’t understand what the Bitcoin Foundation does, but based on newspaper accounts and probably discussions with those working in the traditional banking industry (see the second paragraph), they sent this letter the BF and probably a number of other organizations.

Why lazy? Because this kind of blanket cease-and-desist order means that they don’t have to do any of the leg work themselves to find out what is going on. They send this letter and they wait to see how the organizations respond. Basically, they are hoping that the letters shake some trees and that some “bad apples” will fall out.

This smacks of little more than a child stomping on what it doesn’t understand, because it doesn’t understand.

Public pressure is going to be necessary, here. If you are in California, or even have a connection with California, call or email your state senator or assemblyman. Let them know that in these difficult times, caused by the malfeasance of banks and governments, people need the option to try to find a better future. California was founded on a gold rush. California needs to be at the front of this gold rush as well.

After you contact your state representative, please post a comment and let us know what happened.