Colorado Attorney General John Suthers filed a lawsuit against two out-of-state companies that he says are illegally making loans disguised as cash advances on expected lawsuit settlements.
The lawsuit also claims Oasis Legal Finance of Northbrook, Ill., and LawCash of Brooklyn, N.Y., are engaged in deceptive trade practices that violate state law.
The companies sued in October alleging the state is improperly trying to regulate them as lenders. Suthers alleges in his suit that the companies charge as much as 215 percent interest in the form of fees on money they advance to clients who are borrowing against funds anticipated from lawsuit settlements.
Neither business is licensed in Colorado to make loans that exceed 12 percent, a state requirement.
