Complaint Review: Marlin Financial Inc - Northbrook Illinois

The Attorney General is asking for A $10,000 PENALTY FOR EVERY UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT, $15,000 FOR EVERY INSTANCE THAT AFFECTED SENIOR CITIZENS

TAMPA BAY TIMES, Malina Carollo December 5th, 2018

www.tampabay.com/business/florida-attorney-general-sues-marlin-financial-over-loan-practices-20181205/

Marlin financial likes to hide behind many, many layers of anonymity.  They ADVERTISED AND OPERATED as an unlicensed, unregulated Title Loan Lender in the State of Florida with impunity.  They advertised three locations that did  not actually exist: One in Downtown Miami. another in Kendall, FL, and a third in Orlando, FL.  None was real.  Heck, one of these offices was actually a Womens Gynecology Practice! All mail and all calls, forwarded through several mail/call forwarding services to an undisclosed location at 1500 Skokie Boulevard, Northbrook, IL  60062.  Their bogus shell corporations, Marlin Financial, one of many, were incorporated in Wyoming, by an outfit called "Wyoming Corporate Services", a little brick house which is home to over 2000 fake corporations.  Wyoming Corporate Services specializes in creating shell corporations, and many have already been busted for illegal money laundering operations. 

WHEN YOU APPLIED FOR A LOAN THROUGH MARLIN FINANCIAL, Jeremy Tolan and Geronima Medina required you to furnish them with reams of personal and financial information about yourself.  You gave them your REAL NAME, your HOME ADDRESS, your BANK ACCOUNT numbers, your DRIVERS LICENSE number, your SOCIAL SECURITY number, your telephone number..  You did so, in good faith..

YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DEALING WITH A REAL TITLE LOAN COMPANY, and that  you, as a Florida Citizen, were protected by all the laws and regulations under the Florida Title Loan Law, chapter 537, Florida Statutes.

You were defrauded.

Jeremy Tolan and Geronima Medina told you nothing but lies.  Their offices in Florida didn't even exist.  They operated out of a boiler room in Chicago.  They lied on every correspondance with fictitious names, like Wilmarie, and Dustin and Christine.  They lied about you needing "COVERAGE" in the event of a loss, and added their "Debt Cancellation Waiver" onto your Total Amount to Repay, tripling your debt. 

The instant you called or emailed them to ask why your debt was as big today as it was the day you took out the loan, they instigated reposession proceedings.  The minute you "caught on", was the minute they knew they'd swindled all the cash out of you that they were going to get.  THAT was their queue to come in for the kill, and illegally repossess your vehicle, often with all your belongings inside.  You didn't even have to be late on your payments in some cases.  Then your car was auctioned, next day, in total contravention of Florida Law.

Here are the people who committed these crimes against Florida Consumers over the last three years (and I'll bet they don't like you knowing about them, what THEY know about you):

As of October 2nd, 2018, Marlin Financial Title Loans website at www.marlincash.com has been shut down.  All links are dead, and a caption appears on the home page reading, "Effective 9/26/18, Marlin Financial is no longer accepting new loan applications"

Read Today's Stories below:

UNDER SCRUTINY, ONLINE AUTO LENDER MARLIN FINANCIAL STOPS MAKING NEW LOANS by Malena Carollo, Tampa Bay Times October 2nd, 2018

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/autos/Under-scrutiny-online-auto-lender-Marlin-Financial-stops-making-new-loans_172313344

REP CHARLIE CRIST URGES FEDERAL CONSUMER WATCHDOG TO INVESTIGATE MARLIN FINANCIAL by Malena Carollo Tampa Bay Times October 2nd, 2018

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/autos/Rep-Charlie-Crist-urges-federal-consumer-watchdog-to-investigate-Marlin-Financial_172110544

Call Representative Charlie Crist of Florida's 13th District today at Tel (202)225-5961 or Fax (202)225-9764, and tell him YOU WANT THE U.S. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU to investigate the crimes committed against Florida Citizens throughout the state.

BREAKING NEWS! Customers say Marlin Financial’s Auto Loans are Deceptive. Now the State Is Investigating    9/14/18 Tampa Bay Times Investigations by Malena Carollo

tampabay.com/investigations/2018/09/14/customers-say-marlin-financials-auto-loans-are-deceptive-now-the-state-is-investigating/

Pasco County Tax Collector Warns Businesses About Marlin Financial - 9/18/18 Tampa Bay Times AutoLink by Malena Carollo

tbo.com/news/business/autos/Pasco-County-Tax-Collector-warns-businesses-about-Marlin-Financial_171899156

Editorial: Borrowers Need Protection From Marlin Financial - 9/21/18 Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board

tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-borrowers-need-protection-from-marlin-financial-20180921/

More Consumers Sue Miami Auto Lender Over Debt Cancellation Product - 8/10/17 Tampa Bay Times Business by Malena Carollo

tampabay.com/news/business/autos/more-consumers-sue-miami-auto-lender-over-debt-cancellation-product/2333303

Two Tampa Residents Sue Miami Auto Lending Firm Alleging Deceptive Practices - 6/15/17 Tampa Bay Times Business by Malena Carollo

tampabay.com/news/business/autos/two-tampa-residents-sue-california-auto-lending-firm-for-alleging/2327304

RISKY CAR TITLE LOANS - WFTV ACTION 9 ABC Kissimmee, FL Investigates - 11/16/17

wftv.com/news/action-9/action-9-risky-car-title-loans/648063608

MARLIN FINANCIAL IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED: PATTERN OF COMPLAINTS  - BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

bbb.org/us/fl/miami/profile/loans/marlin-financial-inc-0633-90309519

FLORIDA STATUTE 537.004 LICENSE REQUIRED

(1) A person MAY NOT ACT AS A TITLE LOAN LENDER OR OWN OR OPERATE A TITLE LOAN OFFICE unless such person has an active TITLE LOAN LENDER LICENSE issued by the office [Florida Department of Financial Regulation] under this act.  A title loan lender may not own or operate more than one title loan office unless the lender obtains a separate title loan lender licnse for each title loan office

(5) Each license must be conspicuously displayed at the title loan office.  When a licensee wishes to move a title loan office to another location, the luicensee shall provide prior written notice to the office.

FLORIDA STATUTE 537.013 PROHIBITED ACTS

(1) A title loan lender, or any agent or employee of a title loan lender, shall not:

(a) FALSIFY or FAIL TO MAKE AN ENTRY OF ANY MATERIAL MATTER in a title loan agreement or any extension of such agreement. 

(d) MAKE ANY AGREEMENT REQUIRING OR ALLOWING for the personal liability of a borrower OR THE WAIVER OF ANY OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT [Florida Title Loan Act]

(h) SELL OR OTHERWISE CHARGE FOR ANY TYPE OF INSURANCE IN CONNECTION WITH A TITLE LOAN AGREEMENT

(i) Charge or receive any finance charge, interest, or fees which are not authorized pursuant to this act.

(j) ACT AS A TITLE LOAN LENDER WITHOUT AN ACTIVE LICENSE ISSUED UNDER THIS ACT

(l) Charge a prepayment penalty

(n) Act as a title loan lender under this act within a place of business in which the licencee solicits or ENGAGES IN BUSINESS OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THIS ACT if the office determines that the licensee's operation of and conduct pertaining to such other business results in an EVASION OF THIS ACT. 

FLORIDA STATUTE 537.007 REMEDIES FOR TITLE LOANS MADE WITHOUT LICENSURE:

Any title loan made without benefit of a license is void, in which case the person making the title loan forfeits the right to collect any moneys, including principal and interest charged on the title loan, from the borrower in connection with such agreement.  The person making the title loan shall return to the borrower the loan property, the titled personal property pledged or the fair market value of such titled personal property, and all principal and interest paid by the borrower.  The borrower is entitled to receive reasonable attorney's fees and costs in any action brought by the borrower to recover from the person making the title loan the loan property, the titled personal property, or the principal and interest paid by the borrower.  

FLORIDA STATUTE 537.015 CRIMINAL PENALTIES

(1) ANY PERSON WHO ACTS AS A TITLE LOAN LENDER WITHOUT FIRST SECURING THE LICENSE PRESCRIBED BY THIS ACT COMMITS A FELONY OF THE THIRD DEGREE, PUNISHABLE AS PROVIDED IN s.775.082, s. 775.083, or s.775.084.

(2) In addition to any other applicable penalty, ANY PERSON WHO WILLFULLY VIOLATES ANY PROVISION OF THIS ACT or who WILLFULLY MAKES A FALSE ENTRY IN ANY RECORD specifically required by this act commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 776.082 or s. 775.083.

 In response to the slanderous complaint above, it is apparent that this long-winded complaint is not from an actual customer, but rather from a begrudging competitor, a Title lender, who has who has gone out of their way to defame our company and the valued service we provide to our customers. Of course, this is purposely done with the intention of detracting business from potential customers. In a day and age where complaints can be filed anonymously from behind a keyboard without any merit, businesses are often left victimized by malicious complaints without very much recourse. Today, we now refer to this as “FAKE NEWS”, or in this case fake complaints. How easy is it, for a competitor, a.k.a internet troll to write fake complaints about their competition without any type of preliminary vetting, i.e.  a real customer name, actual loan number etc.  That said, rather wasting time immaturely replying back and forth to ridiculous accusations, we think it makes more sense to state the following information below about our company and allow you the reader to be the actual judge of whether the complaint filed is sincere or rather a disparaging rant from an internet troll.

Marlin Financial, Inc. is a licensed consumer finance company in the state of Florida, License # CF9901149. Our main office is located at 175 SW 7th St, Suite 1214.

Yes, we offer asset-based loans to our customers secured by their car title. While the majority of customers refer to this as a “Car Title Loan,” the product we offer is actually an auto equity loan. Which basically means the customer is using the equity in their automobile as collateral for a cash loan.

As commonly understood, most banks will not offer cash loans to the majority of Americans.  For example, try asking your bank for a $5,000.00 cash advance. Marlin offers loans up to $25,000.00, with re-payment terms up to two years.  Again, try asking your bank for a cash advance and tell them you need two years to pay it back. This is most likely, something they are not willing to do. Unlike banks, our loans are based on the value of your vehicle, not your credit score.

Marlin requires your automobile insurance policy to be paid in full, before it will risk lending money on the title of your car.  This is done to insure that the money we lent to you is protected, should you total your vehicle.  For customers that do not have the money to pre-pay their automobile insurance policy in full, we offer a Debt cancellation waiver. This is an additional fee of protection of against insolvency, that the customer can add onto their loan voluntarily, which would cancel out their debt with our company should a total loss occur. This again is completely up to the customer and completely voluntary.

Did you know, that most of our customers only use the loan for 6 to 8 months? And yes, our loans are currently prorated. Which means a customer only pays for the time they borrow the money.

Did you know that over 55% of our customers use our service more than just once? We have hundreds of satisfied customers that use our service regularly.

Our Management and staff are real, hardworking Americans whom many themselves have needed a short-term loan of some kind to get by life’s many financial obstacles. This personal experience and knowledge of their product is one of many reasons our staff understand the need for the service they provide.

What happens to people who don’t pay back their loan? While the majority of customers do have the sincere intent of paying back their loan, there are always those who have no intention. If a customer will not payback their loan, we are forced to try and repossess the vehicle to pay back the loan. Again, this is a last resort, as we obliviously prefer a paying loan customer. Whether a customer uses our service just one time or several, we go out of our way to make sure it’s an easy and enjoyable experience.

Below is our contact info, please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions or concerns.

MARLIN FINANCIAL

175 SW 7th St, Suite 1214 Miami, FL 33130

www.marlincash.com

[email protected]

(954)687-1640

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and look forward to helping you with a loan.

Guadalupe, 

In your rebuttal, you wrote: "Please allow me to point out the GLARING inconsistencies in this person's statement.  In the title they state "Marlin added to my Title Loan of $3000.00"

Putting aside your dangling sentence fragment and mising comma, That statement is precisely correct.  Marlin Financial Title Loans did in fact add to my Title Loan of $3000.00. They added an item called a "Debt Cancellation Product" to my loan.  They called it "Coverage".  There is no such coverage.  What they added was a $6000.00 additional charge, bringing my total repayment amount to $10,900.  

In your rebuttal, you wrote: "Then later on they go on to rant about how there are 'Some very nice cars parked outside the windows of this otherwise deserted aging office park.'  Referring to the office of an unaffiliated company in NORTHBROOK, IL???"

I will re-affirm that statement. The 1500 BUILDING located at 1500 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL  60062 is the actual, opational, physical headquarters for Marlin Financial Title Loans.  Marlin Financial Title Loans is just one of MANY FICTITIOUS NAMES being used by the same group of scammers.  Other names they operate under include: EZLoanLookup.com, Whetstone Partners aka Everest Business Funding, ETitleLoans.Com, Spark Hire and Etech360.com and most recently www,Commercial-Modification.com, several of which have shut down their website addresses, and NONE OF MARLIN FINANCIAL'S ADVERTISED LOCATIONS ACTUALLY EXIST.  The names of the players are Geronima Medina, Richard and Bonnie Tolan, Jeremy Tolan, Joshua Tolan, Neil Quiriconi, and Peter Pocrnich.  With the exception of Medina, ALL are located in Northbrook, IL.  Marlin Financial Title Loans and all of its associated entities are incorporated in Wyoming, under yet another fraudulent principal address of 1712 Pioneer AV, Suite 6723 Cheyenne, WY  82001, presumably to avoid IL state income tax, and to maintain added layers of anonymity.  Nearly all of these fictitious entites have official state licensure sent to one common address: 1500 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL  60062.  When the State of California busted EZLoan (The Parent Company of Marlin Financial Title Loans) in 2011, the State Attorney of that state issued a CEASE AND DESIST ORDER against EZLoan and Peter Pocrnich (A Named Corporate Principal of said company) and seven additional fictitious names under which the same principals operated, including Costa Mesa Car Title Loans, Corona Car Title Loans, Long Beach Car Title Loans, Bay Area Car Title Loans, Downey Car Title Loans, and Bakersfield Car Title Loans.  The State of California Attorney General identified this ring in part because ALL FICTITIOUS NAMES LED BACK TO THE  SAME PHONE NUMBERS and the SINGULAR ADDRESS of 1500 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL  60062.

In your rebuttal, you wrote: "Marlin only offers loans to RESIDENTS OF FLORIDA.  So is this some poor confused customer from Florida like their claiming to be or is it the far more likely scenerio that it's someone from Illinois with a bone to pick who's resorted to slander? You be the judge"

Your argument doesn't make sense. I am a resident of the State of Florida.  I have a bona fide Florida address, Voter Registration and Concealed Carry Permit, all of which are verifiable public record, and have been a resident of the State of Florida since 1975.  I applied for this loan from my residence in Florida over the internet, believing that MARLIN FINANCIAL TITLE LOANS, per its online advertisements, both past and current, was based in Florida.  Marlin Financial Title Loans advertises that it has THREE LOCATIONS:

1) 175 SW 7th Street Suite 1214 Miami, FL  33180: This address is a fake.  There is no Marlin Financial office at this address.  This is a mail/call relay service, subscribed to by The Tolans and Medina from DaVinci Virtual Office Solutions, with the explicit intent to impress your clients with an upscale address.  Marlin Financial does not exist at this location in any way, shape or form.  We know.  We visited it.

2) 12250 Menta Street, Suite 203 Orlando, FL  32837: This address is also a fake.  There is no Marlin Financial office at this address.  This is a "shared office space" which offers a work space complete with wi-fi and mail/call relaying service.  Marlin Financial does not occupy this location in any way, shape or form.  We know.  We visited this suite.   

3) 10700 North Kendall Drive, Suite 302, Miami, FL  33176: Arguably, Marlin Financial's flagship office... This too is a fake business address.  There is NO VESTIGE OF MARLIN FINANCIAL AT THIS LOCATION.  Their name isn't on the directory, their name isn't on the door.. What IS in Suite 203 you might ask? Why, it's a Gynecology practice.   Women's MD, LLC Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rosanna Rodriguez, M.D. (305) 270-7999.  We know.  We VISITED THE SITE.

4) 14919 SW 87th Lane, Miami, FL  33193:  The home address of Marlin Financial owner and CEO, JEREMY TOLAN as he entered it on the State of Florida DMV Title Lien Form 82139 (under penalty of perjury).  This address does not exist, on any map, in any way, shape or form.   ADDITIONALLY, the FLORIDA DMV LIENHOLDER ACCOUNT NUMBER entered on our encumbered Florida Vehicle Title, used by MARLIN FINANCIAL CEO, JEREMY TOLAN, is owned by his father, Richard Tolan, whose return address is, you guessed it, 1500 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL  60062. 

5) 382 NE 191st Street Suite 13502 Miami, FL: The principal address of Whetstone Partners aka ETitleLoan aka Everest Business Funding aka Geronima Medina (Who is a Marlin Financial Principal and who has signed much of our correspondence) This office does not exist.  It is an empty abandoned storefront.  We know.  We visited this location also. Empty. Website and phone number = DISCONNECTED.  

EVERY ASPECT OF MARLIN FINANCIAL'S DISCLOSURES AND CONTRACT INDUCEMENT IS PREDICATED UPON FRAUD. 

and that's what's going before the Judge, Sweetcheeks.  See you there. 

Please allow me point out the GLARING inconsistencies in this person’s statement. In the title they state “Marlin added to my Title Loan of $3000.00”. Then later on they go on to rant about how there are “Some very nice cars parked outside the windows of this otherwise deserted aging office park.” Referring to the office of an unaffiliated company in NORTHBROOK, IL ???

Marlin only offers loans to RESIDENTS OF FLORIDA. So is this some poor confused customer from Florida like their claiming to be or is it the far more likely scenario that it’s someone from Illinois with a bone to pick who’s resorted to slander? You be the judge.

The Third and Final Office location of Marlin Financial Title Loans is advertised (even at this very moment) as 10700 N Kendall Drive Suite 302, Miami, FL 33176.

What we found when we entered this location was no surprise.

There is no listing for Marlin Financial, Inc in the lobby directory.  No sign whatsoever of their existence.  Just like their other two addresses.

What we DID find in Suite 302, and all the other suites on this floor, was WOMENS MD, LLC, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rosanna Rodriquez, M.D. (305) 270-7999

EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF MARLIN FINANCIAL is predicated upon deceit and outright fraud.

When dealing with Boiler Room Scams, it is imperative to tie all the shell corporation fictitious names together.

The two-pronged point of the report was to:

1) CONNECT THE DOTS.  A myriad of shell corporations hiding behind a number of fraudulent "virtual" addresses, but ALL LEADING TO ONE CENTRAL LOCATION at Skokie B oulevard in Northbrook Illinois.  This was what predicated the California Attorney General to shut down as many as seven earlier incarnations of this cabal.

2) To ASSOCIATE THE SHELL CORPORATIONS with THE ACTUAL OWNERS.  Despite their intensive efforts to incorporate in Wyoming, and to set up scores of non-existent virtual branch offices, and handle all of their transactions and title transfers via the anonymity of internet and VOIP, the principal players needed to be exposed to the public.

 1. I would highly suggest you get out a dictionary and see what the word "TITLE" means. You will see a title is ONLY a few words long and not a paragraph! 2. "War and "Peace" has already been written years ago and has been read by millions. You aren't going to have ANY success in re-writing it. If you want somebody to read your complain, make it short and to the point.