The last thing struggling small business owners need right now is to have money unlawfully taken from their pockets. According to a complaint filed today by the FTC, that’s exactly what a company that offered financing to small business did to its customers.
The FTC alleges that Yellowstone Capital, LLC, Fundry, LLC, and their officers kept withdrawing payments from small businesses’ bank accounts even after they had already fully repaid what they owed. The defendants in this case offered financing products called “merchant cash advances” (“MCAs”) to small businesses. MCAs give business owners quick access to money and are often marketed to business owners who don’t qualify for bank loans or other traditional forms of financing.