In an article published by The Daily Record on August 11, 2025, Drew LaFramboise discusses a class action lawsuit filed by JGL, alleging a predatory lending scheme in which a realty company provides modest loans to homeowners who agree to hire the company in the future — without disclosing high future costs, lost home equity, and clouded titles.
The lawsuit, filed in Maryland federal court, details how Florida-based MV Realty misled homeowners into signing long-term “homeowner benefit agreements” that effectively functioned as 40-year liens on their properties and which the homeowners could only cancel by paying about three percent of their home’s value.
Notably, MV Realty is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, although the company has been barred from operating in several states over the past year due to violations of state consumer protection laws. Instead, suit was filed against Monroe Capital Corporation, a private equity firm that allegedly provided a loan allowing MV Realty to scale nationwide. Monroe has not been subject to litigation for its role in the scheme until now.
“It’s a classic predatory scheme. It’s preying on people who need money fast, hiding the onerous terms in the agreement,” said Drew, who represents the plaintiffs in the case along with JGL Senior Counsel Lacey McMullan.
The complaint brings claims under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Sherman Antitrust Act, and state consumer protection laws. The plaintiffs aim to represent a class of more than 38,000 homeowners whose properties were encumbered by homeowner benefit agreements or who paid penalties to cancel them.
“Monroe was not just a passive investor,” Drew said. “They didn’t just throw money at this and take their hands off the wheel.”
Read the full article “Proposed class-action lawsuit alleges predatory lending scheme by realty company.” (PDF)
Additional Press Coverage
Maryland couple sues over predatory lending linked to MV Realty, Monroe Capital – Virginia Lawyers Weekly (subscription required)
Couple sues over predatory lending linked to MV Realty, Monroe Capital – North Carolina Lawyers Weekly (subscription required)
Couple sues over predatory lending linked to MV Realty, Monroe Capital – South Carolina Lawyers Weekly (subscription required)