Articles by deBanked Staff
Details Emerge in Florida Lawsuit Against Corporate Debt Advisors
August 9, 2018
A debt settlement company being sued by Itria Ventures in Miami-Dade County, FL was asked to prove its claim that it has managed over $1.5 billion in total debt, court records show. That company, Corporate Debt Advisors (CDA), advertises that it provides debt relief for small business owners.
CDA responded to Itria’s request on June 29th with information relating to just two employees, Tony Shea and John Philbin, who combined through their previous experience have purportedly managed $1,584,000,000 of debt.
Not mentioned in their response is that each individual is prohibited from engaging in debt settlement services with Florida consumers where Corporate Debt Advisors is located.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, both Shea and Philbin previously and independently settled with the State after being investigated for running questionable debt settlement businesses. (See here and here)
In the lawsuit filed against CDA by Itria, it’s alleged that CDA is advising merchants to commit fraud by moving money owed to Itria to a new secret hidden bank account at a local bank in Florida where it will be out of reach from Itria.
This is not the first time Corporate Debt Advisors has been sued. In early July, a competitor to Itria, High Speed Capital, petitioned a New York court to turn over funds it believes CDA has in its possession for unlawful budget planning services rendered to a Florida-based business.
OnDeck Profitable, Again
August 7, 2018OnDeck posted a profit this morning, the 2nd time in the last 3 quarters. The company reported $5.8 million in net income for Q2. The average loan size decreased and the average effective interest rate increased (36.1%).
Although the Fed has been gradually raising interest rates, OnDeck’s costs of funds actually went down to 6.6% from 6.8% the prior quarter. This was due to favorable refinancing rates on the $225 million securitization and new $100 million revolving credit facility that closed in April, they said.
OnDeck originated $587 million in loans for the quarter, down slightly from $591 million in Q1.
CommonBond Issues Securitization
August 3, 2018
CommonBond, which helps people finance student loans, announced today its second AAA-rated securitization from Moody’s and DBRS. At $292 million of total collateral, the transaction is the company’s largest to date. It is CommonBond’s second securitization of 2018 and its seventh altogether. The company, which competes with SoFi, now has a total securitized loan amount to over $1.5 billion.
A mix of new and current investors participated in the transaction. Goldman Sachs served as structuring agent, co-lead manager, book-runner, and co-sponsor for this securitization. Barclays, Citi, and Guggenheim Securities also were co-lead managers and book-runners on the transaction.
“Our recent securitization continues the company’s track record of strong credit performance and consistent growth,” said Sam Luk, head of capital markets at CommonBond.
CommonBond was founded in 2011 and is based in New York.
Yellowstone Capital Funded $68.5M in July
August 1, 2018Yellowstone Capital originated $68.5 million in funding to small businesses in July, according an announcement the company made on social media. The figure was slightly larger than what they produced in June.
The top 3 sales reps funded a combined 553 deals for $21 million.
Shopify’s Merchant Cash Advance Business Grows
July 31, 2018Today Shopify released its Q2 2018 earnings report, revealing that Shopify Capital issued $68.5 million in merchant cash advances in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 84% compared to the $37.2 million issued in the second quarter of last year. Shopify Capital has advanced nearly $300 million to merchants since they launched in April 2016, $80 million of which was outstanding on June 30, 2018.
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify currently powers over 600,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries. The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange as SHOP.
Syndication at Heart of SEC and Criminal Investigation into 1st Global Capital
July 31, 2018
New light was shed into the bankruptcy filing of 1st Global Capital this morning. The investigations by the SEC and the US Attorney’s office are related to possible securities law violations, “including the alleged offer and sale of unregistered securities, the alleged sale of securities by unregistered brokers, and the alleged commission of fraud in connection with the offer, purchase, and sale of securities.”
The company is also being investigated by several states attorneys general where individuals were solicited to invest into merchant cash advance deals.
No charges have been filed in these investigations to-date, but they have prevented the company from being in a position to raise new capital.
There are more than $283 million in unsecured lender claims. Of the 20 largest creditors, all of them are individuals or their retirement accounts.
The company’s two main executives, Carl Ruderman and Steven A. Schwartz, relinquished their powers and resigned on Friday. Darice Lang, the company’s operations director, will stay on and report to the newly appointed Chief Restructuring Officer.
The company’s 1,000+ individual unsecured creditors (syndicates) loaned money to be invested in merchant cash advances and would receive a monthly statement to see how their money had been allocated. They also had access to a portal to track their accounts.
Of the $283 million owed to the individuals, the company’s unaudited financials reflect $238 million in A/R (primarily MCAs outstanding), $21 million of intercompany accounts, and $17.3 million in unrestricted cash.
1st Global generated $22.6 million in revenue in 2017 and $29.3 million in revenue in the first 6 months of 2018.
1 Global Capital Files Chapter 11
July 30, 2018
UPDATE: A joint motion filed this morning explained that the companies were forced to file bankruptcy “in order to address a sudden and acute liquidity crisis and to preserve their assets and business operations for the benefit of the individual lenders and all other constituencies. As a result of the investigations commenced by the US Attorney’s Office and Securities and Exchange Commission, with which the Debtors have been and will continue cooperating, the Debtors have ceased their pre-petition effort to raise capital.”
1 Global Capital LLC filed for Chapter 11 on Friday, according to a voluntary petition filed in the Southern District of Florida. The company’s estimated assets and liabilities exceed $100 million while the number of estimated creditors was listed as between 1,000 and 5,000.
A related company, 1 West Capital LLC, also filed for Chapter 11.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP has been retained to assist on the companies’ behalves.
In a joint motion filed this morning, both entities described themselves as “providing direct merchant cash advances to small businesses across the United States.”
Enova’s Small Business Financing Originations Drop
July 30, 2018Enova CEO David Fisher revealed last week that their small business financing operations had declined. “Our small business financing portfolio represented 8% of our total loan book at the end of Q2,” Fisher said on the July 26th earnings call. “We are remaining cautious on this space as the market rationalizes. As a result, our loan portfolio contracted 10% year-over-year and originations were down 23% year-over-year.”
Enova owns two small business financing subsidiaries, Headway Capital and The Business Backer.
While no official announcement has been made, Jim Salters, founder of The Business Backer, updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect that as of last month, he is no longer CEO of the company.
