Americash loans--class action filed

• The website for AmeriCash Loans, LLC proclaims, "Get CASH today, Loans up to $5,000 ... MAKE NO PAYMENTS AND PAY NO INTEREST FOR THE FIRST 30 DAYS". Some may see it as a classic loan shark con. Here is what allegedly happened to one Chicago resident. "Kevin Johnson needed some quick cash for an emergency. He stopped by an Americash Loans outlet in his Chicago neighborhood and did what many Illinois consumers do daily: took out a short-term $700 loan. Under the agreement Johnson signed, Americash required him to pay back the loan in 24 semi-monthly installments of $105.30 for one full year, totaling $2,611 dollars, equivalent to a 365 percent annual interest rate." Link. Kelly Johnson got behind on his payments, which cause him to have to repay $3500 to AmeriCash on his original $700 loan.
• A class action lawsuit was filed in May of 2009 against Americash by Frankel & Cohen, a Chicago firm. "The lawsuit contends that Americash violated the state's Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act, which prohibits the use of business practices that "violate the public policy of Illinois, or are unconscionable or unfair or inflict substantial injury upon a consumer." And, the complaint alleges that the contract Johnson signed contained an 'arbitration clause' in print so fine it was nearly impossible to read, stating that he would be responsible for any legal fees incurred if his loans had to be settled through arbitration. Americash reportedly knew that Johnson could not afford these expenses." Link. Despres, Schwartz, and Geoghegan also appears for the plaintiff in the class action case but no website could be located for this firm. Here is the ARDC profile for one of their lawyers whose name appears on the pleadings.
• In 1992, the SEC filed a complaint againsst AmeriCash, wherein the SEC sought to "restrain and enjoin Defendants from continuing to violate the federal securities laws in connection with their ongoing, fraudulent, unregistered offer and sale of securities in the form of promissory notes and investment contracts."

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