Man Denied Account Sues Bank, Alleges Racial Profiling

DENVER -- A local attorney has filed a federal lawsuit against Commercial Federal Bank after he said they denied him a checking account on grounds that he might be a terrorist.

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Man Says He Was Denied Bank Account Because He Looked Like A Terrorist

Qusair Mohamedbhai tried to open a checking account at the Commercial Federal Bank on Hampden Avenue last May.

He was turned down and thought nothing of it until a friend approached him and said a speaker at a banking seminar -- the woman who performed Mohamedbhai's background check -- told the audience she thwarted a terrorist from getting a checking account and mentioned him by name.

Genevieve Babcock-Elder of Colorado Cheque Connection went so far as to spell his name for the seminar audience, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that the banking agent told the audience that Mohamedbhai had a white American female with him and that terrorists "do that to try and give the appearance that they are on the up and up."

The woman also noted that Mohamedbhai "had moved around a lot." Babcock-Elder was speaking at a seminar at the Brown Palace on banking and terrorism when she told the audience that Mohamedbhai had funneled $160,000 for terrorism through the Colorado National Bank eight years earlier and that he had "returned to the scene of the crime," according to the suit.

"She went into detail about how my Social Security number was issued from Florida and that is where the terrorist learned to fly," Mohamedbhai said.

His federal suit, filed Monday, claims the bank racially profiled, slandered and refused him a checking account based on his race.

"If I don't, as an attorney, take a stand against this type of horrible treatment it is going to happen to other people," said Mohamedbhai, who looks Middle Eastern but is in reality a Canadian citizen of East Indian descent who now lives in Colorado as a legal permanent resident.

"I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, as just a normal guy," he said.

Commercial Federal Bank, in a public statement, said, "We believe we acted appropriately regarding the Mohamedbhai situation, as we followed standard practices and procedures."

Mohamedbhai said that's why he filed the suit -- to let the bank know that racially profiling potential customers is not OK and won't be tolerated.

Mohamedbhai attended law schools in Florida and Wyoming, passed the bar examinations of both Colorado and Wyoming and moved to Denver to accept a job with a law firm. He is a licensed attorney in good standing with excellent credit who has passed comprehensive background investigations, like any other bar candidate, the lawsuit said.

Mohamedbhai is not asking for any specific amount of money, but said this has damaged his reputation and his ability to make and enforce contracts. Plus, he said the speaker mentioned other people during the seminar, therefore there may be a concern he's not the only one whose been profiled at the bank.