October 8, 2025
As the Trump Administration eased policies surrounding corporate oversight, Baltimore City Solicitor Ebony Thompson challenges more local governments to go after companies with “bad corporate conduct.”
The city of Baltimore announced plans to sue technology company MoneyLion Technologies Inc. over alleged discriminatory practices that the city says kept its Black residents in a continuous cycle of debt, The Baltimore Sun reported.
In an announcement by Mayor Brandon Scott, the lawsuit, in collaboration with Berger Montague, accuses MoneyLion of violating the city’s Consumer Protection Ordinance through misleading marketing initiatives, specifically by promoting high-cost, short-term loans under the guise of “Instacash Advances.”
The litigation claims that MoneyLion lured residents in by marketing Instacash Advances as a different form of payday lending, offering customers “zero-interest loans.”
However, Charm City alleges the narrative failed to alert consumers about the hidden fees that came with it and instead, encouraged users to pay “tips” that resulted in interest rates more than 10 times the 33% APR cap established by Maryland law, according to CBS News.
In a statement, Scott said the company trapped the city’s most vulnerable residents. “MoneyLion has preyed on Baltimoreans, trapping our most vulnerable residents in borrowing cycles that made it harder and harder for them to pay bills and put food on the table,” the mayor said.
“Not only is that wrong, it’s illegal. We’re committed to holding MoneyLion accountable — as we’ve done for other big corporations trying to take advantage of our residents.”
Data to support Baltimore’s debt claim was included in the lawsuit. Research from the Center for Responsible Lending showed that Americans who use apps such as MoneyLion are prone to incurring more overdraft fees and taking out multiple advances within weeks of establishing an account. The city argues that patterns revealed by the data prove how consumers become trapped in recurring debt. Berger Montague attorney James Hannaway says the suit is the “first step in stopping MoneyLion from preying on Baltimore’s most financially vulnerable residents.”
As the Trump Administration eased policies surrounding corporate oversight, Baltimore City Solicitor Ebony Thompson issued a call to action for local governments to follow in Baltimore’s footsteps, which has targeted other major corporations, challenging “bad corporate conduct.” “Actions like these are unfortunately necessary to protect consumers from bad corporate conduct,” Thompson said.
“With the federal government now abdicating its responsibilities to consumers, states and localities must pick up the slack.”
Former Baltimore City Solicitor Andre M. Davis celebrated the city’s views, saying he can’t remember the consumer protection law ever being tested to this caliber.
Adding MoneyLion to the list, the city has pending litigations against sports betting giants, DraftKings and FanDuel, amid accusations that the companies use unfair and deceptive advertising practices to exploit vulnerable communities, luring them into gambling addiction.
In partnership with the state of Maryland, both governments issued a suit against Austrian firearms manufacturer Glock, alleging the company doesn’t do enough to stop products from being transformed into illegal machine guns with auto sear devices often referred to as “Glock switches.”
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