1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.020 Johny Fernandez: Alright, so the last topic of conversation. It's 2 00:00:04.020 --> 00:00:08.310 regarding a ban from the MCA industry. Yes. This is regarding 3 00:00:08.310 --> 00:00:11.610 an alleged small business financing scheme from RAM 4 00:00:11.610 --> 00:00:14.670 capital funding. They've been permanently banned from the MCA 5 00:00:14.670 --> 00:00:18.000 space and debt collection industries. So little 6 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:23.340 background, they are required to pay $675,000 to the FTC charges. 7 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:28.800 Some of the charges pretty much say that the decepted use, that 8 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.070 they use deceptive any legal means to seize assets from small 9 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:36.330 businesses, nonprofits and religious organizations. So you 10 00:00:36.330 --> 00:00:40.770 have to see a list that since 2015, they deceive small 11 00:00:40.770 --> 00:00:45.270 businesses and other organizations. And yeah, they're 12 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:46.080 banned from the industry. 13 00:00:46.260 --> 00:00:49.740 Sean Murray: Yeah. So this whole thing is quite interesting. We 14 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:55.080 have not seen a government regulator ban. Someone from the 15 00:00:55.080 --> 00:00:58.920 industry. Yeah. What I feel like that's, you don't really Yeah, 16 00:00:58.950 --> 00:01:01.680 you know, what's, you know, what's crazy about it is usually 17 00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:04.020 when people say, hey, you know, they've been banned from the 18 00:01:04.020 --> 00:01:06.090 industry, they're talking about, like, indirectly, 19 00:01:06.090 --> 00:01:08.640 Johny Fernandez: like, But this is like a government agency 20 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:09.120 telling me, 21 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:11.940 Sean Murray: Well, yeah, the the, you know, it'll be like, 22 00:01:11.970 --> 00:01:14.730 it'll be so expensive to continue. Yeah. So it's 23 00:01:14.730 --> 00:01:18.420 effectively a ban. Right? Or they said they had to agree to 24 00:01:18.420 --> 00:01:20.520 something that would, that would make basically make it 25 00:01:20.520 --> 00:01:24.210 impractical to continue operating in the space. But this 26 00:01:24.210 --> 00:01:26.280 is an order from the Federal Trade Commission. I don't know 27 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:29.940 if you can see it, it actually says the word ban. Yeah, in the 28 00:01:29.940 --> 00:01:33.960 order. It actually says, hey, you're banned. And then if you 29 00:01:33.960 --> 00:01:37.500 read underneath the word ban, and in the big title, it says, 30 00:01:37.710 --> 00:01:40.440 therefore ordered that settling defendants whether acting 31 00:01:40.440 --> 00:01:42.990 directly or indirectly, are permanently restrained and 32 00:01:42.990 --> 00:01:47.250 enjoined from that they can't even advertise market, promote 33 00:01:47.250 --> 00:01:52.020 it offer it provide it arrange for it or assist in anything in 34 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:55.140 related to it. Yeah. They can't be like, Okay, we just won't be 35 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:59.130 a funder we'll be a broker now, they're we'll just be, you know, 36 00:01:59.130 --> 00:02:03.450 a lead company. Yeah. Now, it's says you are banned from the 37 00:02:03.450 --> 00:02:07.590 whole thing entirely. Now, granted, this is part of a 38 00:02:07.590 --> 00:02:11.520 settlement agreement. Right. So this wasn't like a judge decided 39 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:16.620 I hereby order you to be banned. Right. So the the defendants in 40 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:20.850 this particular order consented to Yes. And I think that the 41 00:02:20.850 --> 00:02:22.830 Federal Trade Commission, they were the ones who brought the 42 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:27.450 suit. They worded it like that intentionally? Because it 43 00:02:27.450 --> 00:02:29.820 certainly sends a strong message. Yeah, it wasn't that it 44 00:02:29.820 --> 00:02:32.460 was, you know, it'l be too expensive to continue on No, 45 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:37.500 like, No, you are hereby banned, banned, banned from the industry 46 00:02:37.710 --> 00:02:40.260 in basically every way that they could think of they threw at 47 00:02:40.260 --> 00:02:43.740 every type of term, you know, that would that would involve 48 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:46.740 somebody in the industry itself. And so if you're wondering, 49 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:48.360 wait, what's the background? What are you talking? How did 50 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.310 someone get baned with, this Federal Trade Commission stuff 51 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:56.130 about the FTC, which typically protects consumers got very 52 00:02:56.130 --> 00:02:59.430 active in looking at small business financing, probably in 53 00:02:59.430 --> 00:03:03.180 the life last two years? And they said, We're going to be 54 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:06.330 looking at the industry very closely. Yeah. And they came out 55 00:03:06.330 --> 00:03:11.220 and they filed a couple lawsuits against some players in it. And 56 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:15.330 in this particular one, there was there was a settlement 57 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:18.180 between I guess it was two of the defendants in the FTC, and 58 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:22.560 which they consented to being banned. Yeah. Now the fine. You 59 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:29.640 said it was like 600 $675,000. So, that amount? That amount is 60 00:03:29.640 --> 00:03:36.330 low. Yeah. You know, respective to the circumstances. But I 61 00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:39.360 think the message that was sent is the banned. I don't think 62 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.870 anyone has ever seen a banned, especially not a court order 63 00:03:42.870 --> 00:03:45.600 that says your banned, you know, I just can't say that word 64 00:03:45.600 --> 00:03:46.470 enough, because 65 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:48.120 Johny Fernandez: I feel like it's like a scarlet letter like 66 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:51.120 your, your banned. Well, let me ask you this. If they decide, 67 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.220 let's say, this is all hypothetical, we're not lawyers. 68 00:03:53.220 --> 00:03:57.900 We're just speculating here. If the owner decides to start any 69 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:02.010 business, you, you know, just start from scratch all over 70 00:04:02.010 --> 00:04:02.250 again. 71 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:04.850 Sean Murray: Could he do that? no Okay. No he's banned. 72 00:04:05.480 --> 00:04:06.980 Johny Fernandez: He's, He's personally banned. 73 00:04:06.980 --> 00:04:08.640 Sean Murray: He's personally banned in the company, he worked 74 00:04:08.640 --> 00:04:09.300 for is banned. 75 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:11.820 Johny Fernandez: So they're banned. There's no way they can 76 00:04:11.820 --> 00:04:12.570 get back. 77 00:04:13.320 --> 00:04:18.150 Sean Murray: Hey, look, I'm not, I have a feeling that it 78 00:04:18.150 --> 00:04:21.120 probably wouldn't be a good idea. Again, as a non lawyer 79 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:24.120 reading the language, it's very plain, you're banned. They 80 00:04:24.150 --> 00:04:26.430 describe all the different ways one could operate in the 81 00:04:26.430 --> 00:04:29.100 business. It applies to the person individually, whether 82 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:33.870 they create a new LLC or not, as it seems to me, that it is, you 83 00:04:33.870 --> 00:04:37.980 know, it is a ban, just like just just as anyone would 84 00:04:37.980 --> 00:04:41.700 understand it yet. I mean, that ban of the ban the banned. I 85 00:04:41.700 --> 00:04:45.240 don't know, I don't know, this company. I didn't know them 86 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.370 really beforehand, and I might have heard the name thrown 87 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:50.820 around. I don't have any personal opinion as to who they 88 00:04:50.820 --> 00:04:53.550 are, what they did or anything like that. The only thing that I 89 00:04:53.550 --> 00:04:56.520 know about it is that the end result of the lawsuit with the 90 00:04:56.520 --> 00:04:59.910 Federal Trade Commission was that they are banned. And they 91 00:04:59.910 --> 00:05:02.280 did a whole press release about it saying that they are banned 92 00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:06.930 from the ban from the merchant cash advance industry. Very, 93 00:05:06.960 --> 00:05:12.750 very unique way to end the case. Very interesting outcome. If 94 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:15.510 you're out there wondering, okay, you know, how did this 95 00:05:15.510 --> 00:05:18.390 apply to me? Just know that the Federal Trade Commission you're 96 00:05:18.390 --> 00:05:21.750 watching, yeah. And what they govern, they govern, they govern 97 00:05:21.750 --> 00:05:24.930 things that are untruthful. So if you're making false claims, 98 00:05:24.930 --> 00:05:27.690 or deceptive claims, if you're telling people with a 99% 99 00:05:27.690 --> 00:05:31.590 approval rate, and there's not the FTC could come after you, 100 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.410 right? If you're giving a bait and switch, they could come 101 00:05:34.410 --> 00:05:37.140 after you if you misrepresent the cost. They can come after 102 00:05:37.140 --> 00:05:39.960 you if you collect more money than you're supposed to. Come 103 00:05:39.960 --> 00:05:41.730 after you right. If you're doing anything deceptive 104 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:44.670 misrepresented risk mis representative of what you're 105 00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:48.540 actually offering the FTC, the federal regulator can come after 106 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:52.980 you not criminally, but civilly. Yeah. And the end result of such 107 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:55.320 of such a thing is I'm sure they've spent tons of money and 108 00:05:55.320 --> 00:05:58.020 litigation to get to that point. And at the end of the day, what 109 00:05:58.020 --> 00:05:59.550 happened? They got the head