We have turned our Nation over to Pricks and Assholes! Does anyone NOT know who the Pricks and Assholes are?
Mar 27, 2007 11:05 pm US/Pacific
More Credit Reports Ruined By Feds' Terror List

(CBS 5 / AP) SAN FRANCISCO A little known Treasury Department terror watch list is causing trouble for people trying to buy homes and cars. CBS 5 Investigates first uncovered the problems last year. Now, a report released Tuesday by civil rights lawyers provides new evidence showing the problem is becoming more widespread.

The 250-page list, posted publicly on a Treasury Department Web site, is being used by credit bureaus, health insurers and car dealerships, as well as employers and landlords, according to the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The list includes some of the world's most common names, such as Gonzalez, Lopez, Ali, Hussein, Abdul, Lucas and Gibson, and companies are often unsure how to root out mismatches. Some turn consumers away rather than risk penalties of up to $10 million and 30 years in prison for doing business with someone on the list, the group said.

"We have found that an increasing number of everyday consumers are being flagged as potential terrorists by private businesses merely because they have a name that's similar to someone on this government watch list," said the report's author, Shirin Sinnar, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus.

Many companies who encounter even a partial match are unsure how to root out mistakes, and prefer to turn away someone trying to get a loan or rent an apartment rather than risk penalties of up to $10 million and 30 years in prison, the lawyers said.

The Treasury Department is doing what it can to clarify the rules, Treasury Department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said in a statement. This includes posting guidelines for businesses using its list, including a step-by-step tutorial on how to handle a potential hit, and hosting private-sector workshops across the country.

The 6,000-plus names on the list, managed by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, include people, companies or groups accused of supporting or financing terrorism. Most of them are foreigners. Any of their assets may be frozen by U.S. banks, and Americans are forbidden from doing business with them.

"Few people in the U.S. are actually on the OFAC list," said Sinnar. "But the list includes names shared by thousands of Americans that have nothing to do with U.S. sanctions."

The lawyers' group acknowledged that the screening may sometimes be legitimate, but encouraged greater government regulation to prevent the practice from getting out of control and ensnaring those who simply share a name with a listed individual.

Tom and Nanci Kubbany, from Arcata, were denied a home loan when his credit report came back with an alert saying his middle name, Hassan, was an alias for one of Saddam Hussein's sons.

"It's so surreal, I still can't believe it now," said Kubbany, a Kmart cashier of Syrian descent. "It was devastating for my wife. She worried and worried and worried."

The couple missed out on buying the house they'd had their eye on, but nearly a year later are again working on securing a loan.

San Francisco resident Guadalupe Ortiz went to a Concord Toyota dealership to buy a car but was told her name also was on the list.

"I felt humiliated," she said.

Another couple buying their first home in Phoenix, Ariz. was turned away from their closing with the title company when the man's first and last names—common Hispanic names—matched an entry on the list that had no additional details, like birth dates, that would allow them to easily clarify the mismatch.

The lawyers' group hoped these stories, detailed in their report, would encourage Congress to hold hearings on the issue and restore accountability and oversight to the process.

(? 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )