What is usury?

Jul 16, 2021

Kiritsis Law Group 212 922 0005

By: John Kiritsis, Esq., CPA, MBA, MS, JD, LL.M

Generally usury refers to the illegal practice of charging an impermissibly high rate of interest. Allegations of usury may in certain situations lead a court to  invalidate a loan contract. Also, it is possible that a  party commits usury unintentionally (i.e. poorly drafted loan contract that does not provide cap on adjustable loan interest rates). Laws regarding usury are usually a matter of state law. Constitutional issues have led the federal government to avoid usury regulations, and many legal commentators have viewed it is as one of the motivations behind the federal RICO laws. There are various of some legal and some illegal and others of dubious legality ways to avoid being subjected to usury type of laws -- certain techniques may include -- formation of separate corporate entity charging service and application fees which permit ownership interest by the lender -- annual reporting fees -- appointment of a paid director who is controlled by the lender -- service and/or supply agreement between the lender and borrower, structuring the arrangement in a way that a foreign jurisdictions set of laws may apply, which are very laxed with enforcing usury type of laws. 

 

Law Offices of Kiritsis & Associates 

Phone # 212 922 0005

Manhattan Office (Main Office):

633 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Suite 1306

Brooklyn Office (By Appointment Only):

1023 74th Street

Brooklyn, NY 11228

1st Floor

New Jersey Office:

7309 Ventnor Avenue

Ventnor, NJ 08406

2nd Floor

 

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. PRIOR RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE A SIMILAR OUTCOME.

We hope you would find this website useful with regards to finding potentially relevant information for your legal issue.   The Law Offices of Kiritsis & Associates PLLC is a boutique Law Firm Group headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, with offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn (NY) and New Jersey.  We strive to provide professional legal services for individuals and various business entities.  Our clientele ranges from including aspiring entrepreneurs, startups to established business organizations.

We offer flat fee prices for many of the practice areas provided listed throughout our website.  For more information on the topic you may be interested, or simply to find out how our Law Firm Group can help, you may click at any of our site's links.

 

We are available for existing and potentially new clients 7 days a week -- via online, phone and/or in person. 

Phone# 212-922-0005

Intellectual Property Disclaimer(s):

Copyright 2021

The materials available through this website and any other websites owned by John Kiritsis (individually and collectively, the "Website") are the property of John Kiritsis and his entities, and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws.  You may not use, reproduce, download, store, post, broadcast, transmit, modify, sell or make available to the public content from the Website without the prior written approval of John Kiritsis.  Be aware that any unauthorized use of John Kiritsis trademarks and copyrighted content for commercial purposes in violation of John Kiritsis's intellectual property rights will be vigorously enforced.  All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this site are the property of John Kiritsis.