Joel Jacobs

1 month ago | omahadailyrecord.com | Kyle Hopkins |Megan O’Matz |Joel Jacobs

Series: Desperate Loans:Tribal Lenders’ Profits Built on High-Interest LoansReporting HighlightsCommunity Divisions: A tribal lending business in Minto, Alaska, is bringing in much-needed revenue but also dividing the community over ethical concerns and questions about who benefits. Legal Issues: Two suits allege Minto’s partners receive the bulk of the lending revenue. Among those named: Jay McGraw — son of Dr. Phil — who is linked to a firm assisting the tribe.

1 month ago | adn.com | Kyle Hopkins |Megan O’Matz |Joel Jacobs

This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. Dr. Phil, the powerhouse TV personality, has long dispensed practical advice to anyone hoping to avoid financial ruin — advice he’s shared with his millions of viewers. “No. 1 is avoid debt like the plague,” he’s said.

1 month ago | propublica.org | Jake Pearson |Joel Jacobs |Byard Duncan |Ginny Monk

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Connecticut Mirror. Sign up for Dispatches to get our stories in your inbox every week. Gary Hudson excitedly planned a fishing trip with his 4-year-old son and purchased a kids fishing pole in late 2019. He tossed it in the trunk of his Ford Taurus and parked on the street outside his Hartford, Connecticut, home. Within hours, his car was hauled away by a tow truck.

1 month ago | propublica.org | Byard Duncan |Jake Pearson |Joel Jacobs |Anjeanette Damon

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. People who invested with a Dallas HomeVestors franchise, once touted as the largest, accuse the owner of operating a scheme that cost them tens of millions of dollars. HomeVestors says its franchises follow best business practices. But investors say lax oversight allowed the “We Buy Ugly Houses” brand to be used to further the scheme.

2 months ago | propublica.org | Jake Pearson |Joel Jacobs |Byard Duncan |Corey Johnson

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Connecticut Mirror. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. This year, the head of Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles made a startling public admission, telling lawmakers that the agency, which regulates the towing industry, has never enforced a century-old law meant to protect drivers whose cars are towed.