FastBucks Loan Company Tries To Dodge Debt Obligations
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King has accused a Texas-based loan company, FastBucks, of trying to “weasel out” of paying $20 million of restitution to New Mexico residents by filing for bankruptcy. This would leave many in New Mexico high and dry when it comes to their loans and credit, not to mention abuse on a system designed to help on those in legitimate financial need.
More on the Case
In September of last year, Santa Fe judge Michael Vigil ordered the Texas loan company to both make the payments as they had been ordered to by the courts and to stop offering high-interest loans in New Mexico as well. FastBucks replied to this order by filing for bankruptcy in Texas, their home state, automatically staying any action taken by the court. This leaves the New Mexico courts essentially frozen out of the company’s actions in the state, leaving residents vulnerable to their tactics.
In addition to his comment about FastBucks’ move to “weasel out,” Attorney General King has also filed a motion to hold the Texas loan company in contempt, citing FastBucks for still offering high-interest loans, some with annual interest rates of 400%, in New Mexico – a clear violation of the initial court order that has now been superseded by the company’s filing for bankruptcy in Texas. In fact, the initial court order locked FastBucks to nothing more than 15.50 per $100 borrowed policy on loans.
How this move by the Texas bankruptcy loan company will affect loans and bankruptcy issues in their native state of Texas remains to be seen, but one can only hope that the Attorney General’s move to hold them in contempt will have some positive effect on the potentially hazardous situation to inter-state politics. “With bankruptcy still on the rise, it is important to find a reliable loan company out there,” said one resident of the area, continuing “it’s hard to know who to trust in these troubled economic times…”
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