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New Tech, Old Problem: The Rise Of Virtual Rent-To-Own Agreements, Carrie Floyd
New Tech, Old Problem: The Rise Of Virtual Rent-To-Own Agreements, Carrie Floyd
Fellow, Adjunct, Lecturer, and Research Scholar Works
This Article explores how fintech has disrupted the traditional rent-to-own (RTO) industry, giving rise to new, virtual RTO agreements (VirTOs). These VirTOs have enabled the RTO industry to expand into the service industry and to markets for products not traditionally associated with rentals, such as vehicle repairs, pet ownership, and medical devices. This Article analyzes this development.
RTO agreements purport to rent products to a consumer until the conclusion of a set number of renewable rental payments, at which point ownership transfers. The fundamental characteristic of these agreements – and why they are not regulated as loans – are that …
Goldstein's Curse, James J. White
Goldstein's Curse, James J. White
Articles
ON April 16, 1980, a man using the name Marvin Goldstein opened a bank account at a Baltimore branch of Union Trust Company. He deposited $15,000 in cash. He told the branch manager that he planned to establish a Baltimore office of his father's New York business, "Goldstein's Precious Metals and Stones." Goldstein identified himself with a New Jersey driver's license and gave a bank reference from New York. On May 6, Goldstein deposited a check for $880,000 at another Union Trust branch near the branch where he had opened the account. Words on this check indicated that it was …