Articles by deBanked Staff
SEC Secures Judgment Against Direct Lending Investments
June 20, 2019Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, Direct Lending Investments, a defunct online lending hedge fund, consented to judgment by the SEC on Tuesday. They will be required to pay a disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty that has yet to be determined. Read the full judgment here |
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Did You Watch the NY Assembly and Senate Vote LIVE?
June 19, 2019FINAL: S06395 HAS PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AND SENATE AND WILL BECOME LAWREAD MORE With Governor Cuomo’s signature, this law immediately prohibits the filing of COJs against non-New York State residents. #NYSenate Bill S6395, sponsored by Senator @bradhoylman, passed 61-1 (unofficial). Relates to judgment by confession:https://t.co/ybRXsLfwUk — New York Senate (@NYSenate) June 19, 2019 |
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SEC, Ruderman Heading to Settlement
June 16, 2019The Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion for summary judgment against Carl Ruderman for his role in the 1 Global Capital case is likely to be stayed as the parties head toward a settlement. On June 14, the SEC informed the Court that “as a result of mediation and ensuing discussions, the Commission staff and Defendant […] |
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Long Island Business Loan Brokers Arrested in Bust
June 13, 2019The owner of a Long Island based ISO/loan brokerage and several employees have been arrested, Newsday reports. Demetrios Boudourakis, whom deBanked has previously reported on, is charged with grand larceny, money laundering and other crimes for his role in an advance fee loan scheme. Boudourakis allegedly led a fraud ring that stole more than $2 […] |
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Senator Elizabeth Warren Questions Federal Agencies About Discrimination in Fintech Lending
June 12, 2019
Senator Elizabeth Warren and colleague Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) addressed a letter to multiple federal agencies this week to inquire about their individual roles in overseeing fintech, particularly as it pertains to potential discriminatory underwriting. The senators cited a UC Berkeley study that examined discrimination in the era of algorithmic underwriting. “With algorithmic credit scoring,” […]
Do You Need a Mentor?
June 11, 2019
“You don’t need a f-ing mentor,” is the opening line of a short online video delivered to camera by Gary Vaynerchuk, the celebrated high energy marketing and sales guru. In the video, he concludes by saying: “Enough with the mentor horseshit. Go f-ing execute. There’s unlimited free mentors on f-ing YouTube. Go f-ing work.” A […]
Prospa, An Online Business Lender, Goes Public In Australia
June 10, 2019
Another online small business lender has gone public. This time it’s Australia-based Prospa, a company founded in Sydney in 2012. Prospa offers daily and weekly payment business loans with terms from 3-24 months and competes with companies like OnDeck and Capify. Earlier this year Prospa surpassed $1 billion in loans funded to 19,000 small businesses. […]
SEC Seeks Partial Summary Judgment Against Ruderman in 1 Global Capital Case
June 10, 2019
The SEC filed a motion for summary judgment against defendant Carl Ruderman last week as part of its ongoing lawsuit against 1 Global Capital and related parties. The motion applies to Ruderman on Count 1 of the SEC’s amended complaint alleging violations of 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933 in addition to […]
CLA’s Credit Invisibles Event Kicks Off
June 5, 2019
The Canadian Lenders Association event kicks off today in Toronto. Hosted by Perc Canada and TransUnion at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, this is the second in the series on “Credit Invisibles” and “Credit Deserts.” The CLA’s purpose is to support the growth of companies that are in the business of lending, or providing other […]
One New York COJ Bill Moves Forward
June 5, 2019
A bill that would prevent companies from using Confessions of Judgment against out-of-state debtors is progressing through the New York Assembly. A07500 cleared the judiciary committee on Tuesday despite some Republican opposition. The milestone comes as no surprise as the judiciary committee chair, Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, is also the bill’s sponsor. Assemblymembers Niou, DenDekker, Wright, […]
IOU Originates $32.8M in Loans in Q1
May 30, 2019
IOU Financial funded $32.8M in loans in the first quarter of 2019, according to publicly filed financial statements. The company also continued its profitable streak and plans to grow originations by: Identifying, recruiting and partnering with business loan brokers; Forming new strategic partnerships with entities such as banks and small business suppliers and leveraging their […]
MCA Company Files 15 COJs Against a Medical Practice, Dispute Arises Over Alleged Forgery
May 29, 2019
A New Jersey physician was one day going about his usual business, and the next day found himself an unwitting judgment debtor for almost $2,000,000 based on more than a dozen forged Confessions of Judgment (COJs) of which he had no knowledge. That’s the scenario described in papers by the physician’s attorney suing New York-based […]
Funding These Franchises? Read This First
May 29, 2019
United States Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is concerned with the abilities of four major franchises to repay business loans, according to a letter penned to the Small Business Administration. They include Subway, Complete Nutrition, Dickey’s Barbecue, and Experimac. The issues raised should be on the radar of every provider of capital. For Subway, Cortez Masto […]
Jonathan Braun Sentenced to 10 Years
May 28, 2019
Jonathan Braun, who Bloomberg Businessweek profiled in a merchant cash advance story series, was sentenced to 10 years for drug related offenses this morning at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. He will get credit for 17 months previously served in 2010 – 2011. He is scheduled to surrender on August 25th. Prior to the judge’s […]
Injunction Sought Against MCA Company, NYC Marshal
May 16, 2019
Update 6/24: The matter between the parties resulted in a settlement Update 5/29: Itria now contends to the Court that the petitioner’s lien was actually terminated on October 25, 2018, thus relinquishing petitioner’s security interest. Consequentially, Itria requests that Blue Elephant withdraw its “improperly obtained” TRO as it is Itria that is the true superior […]
DLI Receiver Requests Emergency Relief to Liquidate Feeder Fund Entity
May 14, 2019
The Court House at George Town in Grand Cayman The Receiver for Direct Lending Investments is racing against the clock to protect and preserve the assets of the Cayman Islands-based vehicle used to receive foreign investments, US court records show. The commencement of a voluntary liquidation of the Cayman-entity is required before the deadline to […]
Another COJ Bill In New York Added To The Pile
May 14, 2019
Three members of the New York State Assembly want to make it illegal for a confession of judgment to be entered in the state against non-New York debtors. The debtor would also be required to be a resident of the county in which the COJ is filed. The authors behind Bill A07500, introduced on May […]
George Popescu Steps Down From Lampix
May 13, 2019
George Popescu is stepping down from Lampix, the augmented reality lamp company he founded, according to an announcement. Lampix raised $14.2 million through its sale of PIX tokens in a 2017 Initial Coin Offering (ICO). PIX sold at a price of 12 cents each but the value has since plummeted by more than 95%. Popescu […]
Amazon Now Among The Top Online Small Business Lenders in The United States
May 8, 2019
Amazon has joined PayPal, OnDeck, Kabbage, and Square as being among the largest online small business lenders. On Tuesday, Amazon revealed that it had made more than $1 billion in small business loans to US-based merchants in 2018. Amazon says the capital is used to build inventory and support their Amazon stores. By selling on […]
FTC Forum on Small Business Financing & Merchant Cash Advances
May 7, 2019
RECORDING BELOW At the FTC Forum on Small Business Financing & Merchant Cash Advances this morning, FTC regulators asked questions of a panel of industry representatives about controversial topics, including the use of COJs. Below are some closely paraphrased responses. On Confessions of Judgment (COJs) Scott Crocket, Founder & CEO, Everest Business Funding The […]
