How Tennessee’s House speaker helped keep a payday lender’s struggling sports gambling company alive • Tennessee Lookout A now-defunct Tennessee sports betting operation was under investigation. Then, House Speaker Cameron Sexton stepped in.

Tennessee’s speaker of the House took steps that allowed the owners of a payday lending company, Advance Financial, to keep using their stores to boost a now-defunct online sports betting enterprise. From @friedmanadam5.bsky.social in partnership with @propublica.org.

How Tennessee’s Speaker of the House Helped Keep a Payday Lender’s Struggling Sports Gambling Company Alive Cameron Sexton took steps that allowed the owners of a payday lending company, Advance Financial, to keep using their stores to boost a now-defunct online sports betting enterprise.

NEW: How Tennessee’s Speaker of the House Helped Keep a Payday Lender’s Struggling Sports Gambling Company Alive, by @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Fayette Co. Schools seeks end to desegregation case; Black constituents say they’re being ignored • Tennessee Lookout Tension is palpable between the Fayette County School Board and community members as the board seeks to dissolve a decree over desegretation.

Tension has been palpable between the crowd and the Fayette County School Board this year as as the board pushes toward dissolving the consent decree that has held the school system accountable to the federal government for integrating public schools since 1965. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports.

Tennessee family seeks help for adopted son, though the state may return him to foster care instead By the time the 9-year-old boy arrived in their foster home, he had been in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services for more than half his life, separated from four siblings and...

A child abused in foster care needs ongoing mental health treatment that TennCare and DCS won’t provide, his family says. He now faces a return to a system that harmed him.

via @tennesseelookout.com
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/tenn...

Collage of three different email ads telling borrowers Kerensa, David and Briana they were eligible to borrow more. Highlighted text includes: "Good news" or "Great news," "You may withdraw the cash you need TODAY," "You're Already Approved," and "Waiting for your money? Nope, your money is waiting for you."

“You’re Already Approved”: How One Tennessee Company Sets a Debt Trap

More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com and ProPublica that Advance Financial encouraged them through emails and notifications to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made: propub.li/3ZXaVPY

Tennessee lawmakers and lenders said this law would protect borrowers, but it trapped them in debt • Tennessee Lookout Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made.

More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com
and @propublica.org that Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The Tennessee lender went on to sue them once they couldn’t pay back the loan.By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social.

Tennessee lawmakers and lenders said this law would protect borrowers, but it trapped them in debt • Tennessee Lookout Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made.

More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com
and @propublica.org that Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The Tennessee lender went on to sue them once they couldn’t pay back the loan. Great work by @friedmanadam5.bsky.social

“It’s a nasty loan.”

New from @friedmanadam5.bsky.social:

Tennessee Lawmakers and Lenders Said This Law Would Protect Borrowers. Instead It Trapped Them in Debt. Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made, tearing a hole in the safety net the law tried to create.

Tennessee Lawmakers and Lenders Said Their Flex Loan Law Would Protect Borrowers. Instead It Trapped Them in Debt.
@friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Tennessee lawmakers and lenders said this law would protect borrowers, but it trapped them in debt This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Tennessee Lookout . Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

A dozen-plus borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com and @propublica.org that Advance Financial urged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The Tennessee lender sued them once they couldn’t pay back the loan.

By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/tenn...

Tennessee lawmakers and lenders said this law would protect borrowers, but it trapped them in debt • Tennessee Lookout Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made.

In 2014, Cameron Sexton, now House Speaker, brought a bill he said would protect borrowers. Instead "flex loans" trap people in a debt spiral. One woman will end up owing $14k on a $3,850 loan.

@friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com @propublica.org
tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/26/t...

Tennessee Lawmakers and Lenders Said This Law Would Protect Borrowers. Instead It Trapped Them in Debt. Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made, tearing a hole in the safety net the law tried to create.

NEW: More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com‬ and ProPublica that Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments.

The lender went on to sue them once they couldn’t pay back the loan.

By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social‬

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...

Advance Financial has sued over 110,000 borrowers in Tennessee since 2015.

In one county, where nearly half the households make less than $50,000, the company has filed one case for every 32 residents in that time, @tennesseelookout.com and ProPublica found.

By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social

This lender said its loans would help Tennesseans. It has sued more than 110,000 of them. • Tennessee Lookout The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Tennessee-based Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers.

(ICYMI) My friend and former colleague @friedmanadam5.bsky.social teamed up w/ @propublica.org to expose TN-based flex loan-lender Advance Financial's predatory practices (high interest, suing borrowers) and how elected officials (state and federal) enabled them. tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/05/t...

We are continuing to report on flex loans. Have you been sued by Advance Financial, Harpeth Financial or another flex loan lender?

To share your experience, call or text reporter Adam Friedman (@friedmanadam5.bsky.social) at 615-249-8509.

@tennesseelookout.com and @propublica.org are continuing to report on flex loans in Tennessee, where 110,000 borrowers have been sued by Advance Financial alone.

Have you been sued by a flex loan lender?

Call or text reporter @friedmanadam5.bsky.social at 615-249-8509 to share your experience.

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...

Advance Financial’s Flex Loan charges 279.5% interest, trapping thousands of borrowers in debts that end up in court, where the company has won over $200 million in judgments since 2015.

By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social, w/ @tennesseelookout.com

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...

Since introducing the Flex Loan in 2015, Tennessee-based lender Advance Financial has filed ***over 110,000 lawsuits*** against its borrowers.

Advance lobbied lawmakers to create the loan to avoid federal consumer protection regulations. @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...

110,000+...

Imagine filling the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium...and then still needing more seats.

That's how many lawsuits Advance Financial has filed against its borrowers.

From @friedmanadam5.bsky.social for @tennesseelookout.com+ @propublica.org: www.propublica.org/article/flex...

Have you been sued by Advance Financial, Harpeth Financial or another flex loan lender in Tennessee?

The Tennessee Lookout and @propublica.org are continuing to report on flex loans. To share your experience, call or text reporter @friedmanadam5.bsky.social at 615-249-8509.

Here's the link to the bill: wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinf.... Six members voted against it in the state House.

Our @friedmanadam5.bsky.social has spent months interviewing people sued by Advance Financial and combing through data. This, friends, is public service journalism and I am incredibly proud of him.

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending…

NEW: A Tennessee lender told legislators its new product, the Flex Loan, would help residents.

In the 10 years since getting approval for it, the company has sued over 110,000 borrowers.

With @tennesseelookout.com

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...

Almost unfathomable: This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. Yes, you read that right. By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...

A Tennessee lender told legislators its new product, the Flex Loan, would help residents.

In the 10 years since getting approval for it, the company has sued over 110,000 borrowers.
www.propublica.org/article/flex...

Speaker Mike Johnson Is Living in a D.C. House That Is the Center of a Pastor’s Secretive Influence Campaign The Capitol Hill townhouse is owned by a major Republican donor. It’s the headquarters of a little-known political influence project that has reached a number of powerful Republican politicians.

NEW: A $3.7 million Capitol Hill townhouse is the D.C. headquarters of a secretive political influence project.

It’s owned by a major GOP donor. But one of the most powerful men in the country recently moved in: House Speaker Mike Johnson. www.propublica.org/article/mike...

Fearful of ICE raids in congregations, Nashville organizers view clergy education as key With new policy guidance allowing immigration enforcement in houses of worship, area clergy sort through complex legal questions in case of ICE raid.

Nashville community organizers hope outreach to clergy to equip them for ICE raids can counter some of the fear that's supplanted the safety and comfort many immigrants experience by belonging to faith congregations. My latest on these outreach efforts: www.tennessean.com/story/news/r...

Hemp industry fears slate of restrictive bills could gut industry • Tennessee Lookout A bill by Tennessee Republican William Lamberth would ban convenience stores from selling hemp and THC products.

A bill that would move the sale of all recreational hemp products into liquor stores or vape stores is on the Tennessee Senate docket Tuesday morning.

A bill to preempt Metro Council by a Nashville Democrat raises eyebrows • Tennessee Lookout A bill filed and hastily withdrawn by Nashville Democrat John Ray Clemmons to strip local authority over license plate readers drew concern.

In my latest for @tennesseelookout.com, I reflect on the importance of holding all of our elected officials - even Democrats - accountable for their decisions.

If you want to claim the moral high ground, you've got to be willing to admit when you've lost it.
tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/24/a...

Cash for Clout database: Who's funding Tennessee's politics? • Tennessee Lookout "Cash for Clout" is a series in the Tennessee Lookout focusing on the flow money into politic and its influence on the Tennessee Legislature.

Who’s funding Tennessee’s politics?

If you're interested in following the money,
@tennesseelookout.com has all PAC, lawmaker & political party donor dollars since 2010 in an easily searchable database (newly updated)
Data wrangler: @friedmanadam5.bsky.social
tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/24/c...