By Alan Zibel and Andrew R. Johnson 

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened at least 10 civil and criminal investigations into whether banks and payment processing firms helped enable fraudulent activity, according to an internal Justice Department memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

More than 850 pages of internal documents on the DOJ's probe of alleged fraud in the financial industry were obtained by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The panel has been conducting an inquiry into the federal probe known as "Operation Choke Point," which is aimed at reducing the ability of fraudulent businesses to operate by going after financial firms--like banks and payment processors--that help move their money.

The memos viewed by the Journal detail last year's launch of the sweeping probe, which resulted in the government issuing subpoenas to about 50 banks and six payment processing firms, according to a November 2013 memo by DOJ official Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong.

Ms. Frimpong, in her memo, wrote that the government had the opened civil investigations into 10 banks and payment processors and was in settlement talks with three of them.

The DOJ has also opened criminal investigations of four payment-processing firms as well as one criminal investigation of a bank "and responsible bank officials."

The names of affected banks were blacked out in the memos viewed by the Journal.

Some banks have disclosed investigations related to payment processing.

In January, the Justice Department reached a $1.2 million settlement with a small North Carolina bank, Four Oaks Fincorp Inc., over allegations the bank processed more than $2 billion in transactions for a payment processor that worked with allegedly fraudulent merchants, including short-term lenders that operate from offshore. A federal judge approved the settlement in April.

Zions Bancorp., a regional lender based in Salt Lake City, has said in regulatory filings that it faces an investigation by the Justice Department related to payment processing for "allegedly fraudulent telemarketers and other" customers. The bank said in a May filing that the investigation is ongoing.

And PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in February disclosed it had received a subpoena from the Justice Department seeking information about transaction return rates for certain payment-processing customers. The subpoena is intended to determine "whether, and to what extent, PNC may have facilitated fraud committed by third-parties against consumers, " PNC said in a filing, adding it was cooperating with the subpoena.

The release of the documents comes amid a battle between the Justice Department and congressional Republicans, who argue the government is trying to intimidate legal businesses, including short-term lenders that operate online.

Republicans say the government has pressured banks to stop handling payments for merchants deemed as high risk--including gun dealers, short-term lenders and credit repair programs--punishing good actors along with bad ones.

"If the administration believes some businesses should be out of business, they should prosecute them before a judge and jury," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), the chairman of the oversight panel. "By forcibly conscripting banks to do their bidding, the Justice Department has avoided any review and any check on their power."

Ms. Frimpong, in her memo, described the Choke Point Probe as a success.

"We have learned directly from many sources that banks that have received our subpoenas, and others aware of our efforts, are scrutinizing their relationships with high risk third-party payment processors," she wrote. "In several cases, after receiving a subpoena, banks and processors have self-disclosed potentially problematic relationships and have informed us that they have taken corrective action."

Ms. Frimpong also said prosecuting some cases won't be difficult because "because employees expressly admitted in emails, memos, or other written documents that they believed or suspected that the merchant was engaged in fraud against consumers, but nonetheless continued to process payments in return for significant fees."

A DOJ spokeswoman didn't immediately comment.

Write to Alan Zibel at a lan.zibel@wsj.com and Andrew R. Johnson at Andrewr.johnson@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

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