"I don't think I could concoct a more predatory scheme if I tried. This was modern-day indentured servitude." That's what Roger Bertling, the senior instructor at Harvard Law School's clinic on predatory lending and consumer protection told The New York Times about sleazy operators who hyper-inflated the price of taxi medallions (which allow you to own a taxi in New York) and bankrupted drivers who took out loans to buy them.
From the article:
"People love to blame banks for things that happen because they're big bad banks," said Robert Familant, the former head of Progressive Credit Union, a small nonprofit that specialized in medallion loans. "We didn't do anything, in my opinion, other than try to help small businesspeople become successful."
Mr. Familant made about $30 million in salary and deferred payouts during the bubble, including $4.8 million in bonuses and incentives in 2014, the year it burst, according to disclosure forms.
