Cash Advance Firm Yellowstone Settles NY Suit for $1 Billion (1)

Defunct cash-advance company Yellowstone Capital LLC and two of its officers have reached a $1 billion settlement with New York over allegations that they ripped off thousands of small businesses, state Attorney General Letitia James said.

To help cover the settlement, more than two dozen companies controlled by Yellowstone agreed to cancel debts totaling $534 million for more than 18,000 customers across the US, James said in a statement Wednesday. The parties also made an immediate $16 million restitution payment. The companies remain also liable for $514 million.

Yellowstone, which grew out of the financial crisis, featured sky-high interest rates ...