STATE OF CALIFORNIA
BUSINESS, TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING AGENCY
DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATIONS
TO: Miro Zecevic, CEO and Managing Member File Nos. 995-3453
Cash Now.com, LLC & 995-3480
Cash Now Plus.com, LLC
2005 Easton Road
Doylestown, PA 18901
Miro Zecevic, CEO and Managing Member
Cash Now.com, LLC
Cash Now Plus.com, LLC
3100 Steeles Avenue East, Suite 201
Toronto, Ontario L3R 8T9 Canada
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF ORDER
DENYING EFFECTIVENESS OF FRANCHISE REGISTRATION
(Corporations Code section 31117)
The California Corporations Commissioner finds that:
1. Cash Now.com, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company that was formed on May 15,
2003. Its head office is located at 3100 Steeles Avenue East, Suite 201, Toronto, Ontario, L3R 8T9,
Canada. Cash Now.com, LLC formerly maintained a regional office in the United States at 8260
Greensboro Drive, Suite 550, McClean, Virginia 22102. As of January 26, 2004, its regional office
in the United States has been moved to 2005 Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18901. Cash Now.com,
LLC is engaged in business activities relating to the franchising of Cash Now businesses. Cash Now
businesses are retail outlets which offer small, short-term consumer loans (so-called “payday loans”),
money transfers, money wiring and walk-in credit applications.
2. Cash Now Plus.com, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company that was formed on July
3, 2003. Its offices are located at the same addresses as those of Cash Now.com, LLC, with which it
is affiliated. Cash Now Plus.com, LLC is engaged in business activities relating to the franchising of
Cash Now Plus businesses. Cash Now Plus businesses are retail outlets which offer small, short-term
consumer loans (so-called “payday loans”), check cashing, money transfers, money wiring, mail box
rentals, overnight delivery, tax return preparation, bill payment, fax, photo copying, walk-in credit
applications, credit card applications and secured credit cards.
3. Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. and Cash Now, Inc. are affiliates of Cash Now.com, LLC and
Cash Now Plus.com, LLC. Their offices are located at the same addresses as those of Cash
Now.com, LLC and Cash Now Plus.com, LLC.
4. Cash Now.com, LLC, Cash Now Plus.com, LLC, Cash Now-USA.com, Inc., Cash Now,
Inc. and their other affiliates maintain websites at URLs including www.cashnow.com,
www.cashnow-usa.com, www.cashnowplusllc.us, www.cashnowllc.us, www.cashnowamerica.com,
and www.paydayloanbusiness.com. They claim to own a unique system for opening and operating
businesses to provide payday loans and related services.
5. Miro Zecevic is the chief executive officer of Cash Now.com, LLC, Cash Now Plus.com,
LLC, Cash Now-USA.com, Inc. and Cash Now, Inc. He is also the managing member of Cash
Now.com, LLC and Cash Now Plus.com, LLC.
6. On November 22, 2002, Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. and its affiliate Cash Now Fransys Inc.
received a cease and desist letter from the State of Washington, Department of Financial Institutions,
Securities Division, demanding that they immediately cease directing offers of franchises to
Washington residents by means of the Internet.
7. On November 25, 2002, Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. and its affiliate Cash Now Fransys Inc.
received a cease and desist letter from the State of Washington, Department of Financial Institutions,
Securities Division, demanding that they immediately cease making offers of unregistered securities
to Washington residents.
8. On August 5, 2003, the Division of Securities of the Wisconsin Department of Financial
Institutions issued a summary Order of Prohibition to Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. and its affiliates and
controlling persons, including Miro Zecevic, to prohibit them from making any further offers or sales
of franchises unless and until the franchises were registered under Wisconsin law. The order was
based upon a finding that Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. had made a sale of an unregistered Cash Now
franchise to a Wisconisn resident in approximately October-November, 2002.
9. During 2003 the Office of the Illinois Attorney General issued a Notice of Violation to
Cash Now, Inc. relating to its sale of an unregistered franchise in Illinois. Pursuant to that Notice of
Violation, Cash Now, Inc. paid a fine of $1,500.
10. On August 11, 2003 the Securities Department of the Illinois Secretary of State issued a
Temporary Order of Prohibition to Cash Now, Inc., on behalf of its officers and directors, agents,
employees, affiliates, successors, and assigns, prohibiting them from selling securities in Illinois or
from Illinois.
11. On or about October 23, 2003, Cash Now Plus.com, LLC filed an application pursuant to
Corporations Code section 31111 for registration of an offer to sell Cash Now Plus franchises in
California.
12. On or about November 3, 2003, Cash Now.com, LLC filed an application pursuant to
Corporations Code section 31111 for registration of an offer to sell Cash Now franchises in
California.
13. During the period of approximately January through September of 2003, Cash Now-
USA.Com, Inc. sold Cash Now or Cash Now Plus franchises to at least five residents of California.
Each of the five California residents purchased a franchise to operate a Cash Now or Cash Now Plus
business in California. The franchises sold by Cash Now-USA.com, Inc. were substantially similar
to the Cash Now and Cash Now Plus franchises which Cash Now.com, LLC and Cash Now
Plus.com, LLC have applied to sell in California. One of the five prospective franchise purchasers
received a letter dated January 23, 2003 signed by Miro Zecevic, CEO, inviting him to make a formal
application to become a Cash Now franchisee.
14. The offer and sale of franchises by Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. in California was not
registered under the Franchise Investment Law and was not exempted under Chapter 1, beginning
with Corporations Code section 31100, of that law. The franchise purchasers were not told of the
prior administrative actions that had been taken against Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. and its affiliates
by other states in violation of Corporations Code section 31201. The California Corporations
Commissioner issued an order to Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. pursuant to Corporations Code section
31402 on March 30, 2004 to require it to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale of those
franchises unless and until the offer has been duly registered under the Franchise Investment Law.
15. In November, 2003, Cash Now.com, LLC sold a Cash Now franchise to a resident of
California. At the time of that sale the offer of franchises by Cash Now-USA.com, LLC had not been
registered under the Franchise Investment Law and was not exempted under Chapter 1, beginning
with Corporations Code section 31100, of that law. The California Corporations Commissioner
issued an order to Cash Now.com, LLC pursuant to Corporations Code section 31402 on March 30,
2004 to require it to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale of those franchises unless and
until the offer has been duly registered under the Franchise Investment Law.
16. Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. has been and currently is offering securities to residents of
the state of California in issuer transactions from its websites and through related communications.
The securities are in the form of promissory notes yielding purported monthly income payments at
the rate of 12% to 24% per year from the factoring of its franchisees’ receivables which are in the
form of payday loans. The investments are explained at a company website page titled “Investment
Info” at www.cashnow.com/cn_invinfo.shtml. They were further explained by a company
representative in an email to a prospective California investor in October of 2003 as follows:
“Basically if you invest 25 thousand dollars we will give you 20% per annum. Anything over
100 thousand dollars we would give you 22%. Anything above that would be [sic] have to be
discussed. We provide you with 12 post dated checks all at once. The terms for your
investment would mature in one year, at that point you could decide whether to leave it with
Cash Now or pull out your investment. All of our investments are registered with the
government and we provide you with a promissory note.”
17. Although Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. and its personnel represent that the investments “are
registered with the government,” in fact they are not registered with the California Corporations
Commissioner. The Department of Corporations has not issued a permit or other form of
qualification authorizing any person to offer and sell these securities in this state. The California
Corporations Commissioner issued an order to Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc. pursuant to Corporations
Code section 25532 on March 4, 2004 to require it to desist and refrain from the unlawful offer and
sale of the securities in California.
Based upon the foregoing findings, the California
(1) franchise applicant Cash Now.com, LLC, its CEO and managing member Miro Zecevic,
and its affiliate Cash Now-USA.Com, Inc., have failed to comply with the provisions of
the Franchise Invesment Law within the meaning of Corporations Code section 31115(a)
by selling six unregistered franchises in California in violation of Corporation Code
sections 31110 and 31201;
(2) the offer or sale of franchises pursuant to the pending applications of Cash Now.com,
LLC and Cash Now Plus.com, LLC would constitute misrepresentations to, or deceit or
fraud of the purchasers within the meaning of Corporations Code section 31115(b) based
upon the prior sales of unregistered franchises by franchise applicant Cash Now.com,
LLC, its CEO and managing member Miro Zecevic, and its affiliate Cash Now-USA.com,
Inc., in that most or all of those sales were made by means of concealment of
administrative orders previously issued against those persons and their affiliates by
regulatory agencies in other states; and
(3) Miro Zecevic is a person identified in the franchise applications of Cash Now.com, LLC
and Cash Now Plus.com, LLC as well as the CEO and managing member of those two
franchise applicants, and is also subject to currently effective restrictive orders within the
meaning of Corporations Code section 31115(d)(4), and that involvement of Miro
Zecevic in the sale or management of franchises would create an unreasonable risk to
prospective franchisees within the meaning of Corporations Code section 31115(d) in that
Miro Zecevic has previously engaged in sales of unregistered franchises in California by
means of concealment of administrative orders that were previously issued against him
and companies of which he is a principal.
For the foregoing reasons the California Corporations Commissioner has determined that an order / / /
should be issued summarily pursuant to Corporations Code section 31115 to deny the effectiveness of
the franchise applications of Cash Now.com, LLC and Cash Now Plus.com, LLC.
Dated: April 2, 2004
Los Angeles, California
WILLIAM P. WOOD
California Corporations Commissioner
By_______________________________
KAREN PATTERSON
Supervising Counsel
Enforcement and Legal Services
------------------ |
