Main Line Predatory Lender May Avoid Jail Due To Health: Report

Charles Hallinan was convicted of various fraud and racketeering crimes recently for issuing predatory loans. He was hit with a 14-year prison sentence in early July.

But he may never see the inside of a cell if his attorneys get their way.

A report from Philly.com says his counsel is asking U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno hold off on sending Hallinan, 77, of Villanova to prison due to his failing health.

The outlet reports he is battling two forms of cancer.

"It would be inhumane to make a decision to send a defendant like this to jail while his treatment is ongoing," Hallinan's attorney Michael Rosencraft argued. "Interrupting his treatment at this point will endanger his life. I don’t say that lightly, and I’m not exaggerating."

While no decision was made Monday, Robreno plans to make a ruling Wednesday.

Hallian on July 6 was

sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $2.5 million.

In November 2017, a federal jury convicted Hallinan of all 17 counts of criminal conduct the government charged in its superseding indictment: two counts of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act; one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering; two counts of mail fraud and aiding and abetting; three counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting; and nine counts of international money laundering and aiding and abetting.

Hallinan, a former investment banker, was in the payday lending business from at least 1997 to 2013, according to federal authorities.

Dubbed "the Godfather of payday lending" by the media during his trial, Hallinan owned, operated, and financed companies that issued small-amount, fixed-fee loans and collected debts on these loans in excess of $690 million

The loans were known in the industry as "payday loans" because borrowers often took them out to cover expenses and then paid back the principal, plus fees and interest, with their next paychecks or other steady income, such as social security payments, according to federal authorities.

Hallinan made his illegal fortune by charging fixed fees and high interest rates far in excess of what was permitted under states' usury laws.

The government proved at trial that Hallinan knew these loans violated state law, so he hid his personal involvement behind a series of "straw"lenders, including a federally-insured bank and three Indian tribes, according to federal authorities.

Hallinan's co-defendant, Delaware attorney Wheeler K. Neff, assisted Hallinan in structuring the scam and hiding Hallinan's involvement, authorities said.

Neff was sentenced in May 2018 to eight years' imprisonment for his part in the scheme, according to federal authorities.

As part of the sentence imposed today, the government sought and obtained a significant forfeiture judgment against Hallinan, which will strip him of the trappings of success he acquired as a result of his unlawful conduct, authorities said.

The district court ordered the defendant to pay a forfeiture money judgment of just over $64 million as proceeds of the RICO conspiracy, and also ordered him to forfeit his interest in approximately $1.2 million in funds in 18 bank accounts; two Mercedes Benz vehicles; one Bentley vehicle; and his Villanova mansion, according to federal authorities.

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