Dealing with lawsuits and enforcement actions by attorneys normal in a number of states, the corporate mentioned Thursday it will shut down about two weeks after being sued by Connecticut’s Legal professional Common.
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Sale-leaseback platform EasyKnock, which confronted shopper lawsuits and enforcement actions by attorneys normal in a number of states, has closed its doorways, the corporate introduced Thursday.
“After many years of serving consumers, EasyKnock has closed its doors,” an announcement posted on the corporate’s web site informs guests. “We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us to be part of the financial journey of so many. While EasyKnock may no longer be around, arrangements have been made to ensure continued services for our customers.”
The information was first reported by NPR, which revealed a prolonged investigative piece on the New York-based sale-leaseback platform’s enterprise practices in June.
NPR documented shopper lawsuits in opposition to EasyKnock in Texas, Maryland, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and enforcement actions by attorneys normal in Michigan and Massachusetts.
In September, EasyKnock scored a victory in Texas when an arbitrator dominated in opposition to a Texas couple who claimed that their transaction was really a mortgage in disguise, awarding the corporate $153,000.
However final month, the Connecticut Legal professional Common’s Workplace filed go well with in opposition to EasyKnock, alleging the corporate “targets cash-strapped homeowners in need of financing who, for reasons of poor credit or excessive debt, may not qualify for financing.”
The Nov. 27 grievance, which detailed three situations through which money proceeds allegedly equaled “just a fraction of the consumer’s total home equity,” and accused EasyKnock of participating in unlawful practices as a landlord, sought to cease the corporate from doing enterprise in Connecticut, in addition to restitution and civil penalties.
Inman has requested remark from EasyKnock.
Launched in 2016 and primarily based in New York Metropolis, EasyKnock closed a $3.5 million seed funding spherical in 2018 that included $100 million in new debt funding from traders together with Montage Ventures, Crestar Companions and Blumberg Capital.
That was adopted by a $12 million Sequence A in 2019 that additionally supplied $203 million in debt funding, and a $20 million Sequence B in the summertime of 2020. Most just lately, EasyKnock introduced a $57.2 million Sequence C funding spherical from new and present traders, together with Blumberg Capital, Gaingels, Moderne Ventures, QED Buyers, Viola FinTech and Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff.
Editor’s word: Inman’s Taylor Anderson contributed to this story.
