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      *Folks in the New Mexico and D.C. metropolitan area can tell you – Al Sharpton’s LoanMax commercials were shady-looking enough before a New York investigative news crew found the company to be the target of consumer groups for alleged predatory lending.           

       “When I’m out fighting for the little guy and I need quick cash I find comfort in knowing that LoanMax is here for me,” Rev. Al says in the spot, which comes off as a “Saturday Night Live” skit poking fun at a cheesy car dealer commercial. Throughout the ad, he gestures stiffly with his eyes slightly off to the side to read the cue cards, and he points to the camera for emphasis at the end – it’s one of those ads.

       According to New York’s CBS 2 Investigates, LoanMax has 200 offices in 20 states, including New Mexico and Virginia. Keith Corbett, senior vice president of the Center For Responsible Lending in Washington, told CBS 2 that the company charges “triple-digit interest rates and the terms are so that the person can't really pay the loans back without doing harm to themselves."

       When CBS 2 called the company, they were told a loan could be given to them “in 10 to 15 minutes,” but first, the company would need the title to your car and an extra set of keys.     

       The interest rate for the loan is an eye-popping 372 percent per year. So if you borrowed $400, after two and a half months you would have paid $374 dollars - and still owe $300, notes CBS 2.       

       “If you miss one payment, your car could be repossessed,” Corbett said.        

       In Iowa, one of the states where LoanMax operates, 1,000 cars had been repossessed by last May.      

       “LoanMax is a bottom feeder, said Iowa State Sen. Joe Bolkcom. “They are taking advantage of people in our state. My goal is to put them out of business.”      

       So what does Sharpton have to say about touting LoanMax? He told CBS 2:  “I don’t understand why it’s wrong for the little guy with no credit not to be able to get money.”

       LoanMax president Rod Aycox reiterated Sharpton’s sentiment, telling CBS 2 that his company offers loans to people who can’t qualify at banks. The company makes about 500,000 loans a year, repossessing “roughly 5 percent"---- that’s roughly 25,000 cars.  

       When given the facts about customers being victimized by LoanMax’s lending practices, Sharpton said: “If somebody shows me they're being abused, then I'll take a different position.”