The exchange for the debt economy
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Jade Presents is fighting back against the lenders it blames for helping sink the company into bankruptcy.
The bankrupt Fargo concert promoter has filed three lawsuits accusing merchant cash advance companies of charging predatory, disguised interest rates, in one case, nearly 149% a year.
Court records show Jade Presents paid the three lenders a combined $964,233 in the months and years before its Chapter 11 filing.
The lawsuits, filed Aug. 23 and 24 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota, target Rocket Capital NY, LLC; Direct Capital Source Inc., doing business as Capytal.com ; and Unique Funding Solutions LLC.
Jade Presents paid Rocket Capital at least $601,233 over about a year and a half, under deals the company says carried annualized returns of nearly 62% and 78%. The company paid Direct Capital Source at least $147,000, and possibly as much as $216,266, at an annualized rate the lawsuit puts at almost 149%. Jade Presents paid Unique Funding Solutions at least $216,000, possibly up to $283,884, at an annualized rate of nearly 86%.
The lawsuits claim the deals were marketed as sales of “future receivables” but functioned as usurious loans. One filing cites a 2025 New Jersey bankruptcy ruling that called the practice “a metaphysical and legal impossibility.”
Jade Presents is also asking the court to throw out a competing claim Rocket Capital filed in the bankruptcy case for $224,750, arguing the underlying agreement is unenforceable.
The lawsuit against Direct Capital Source also raises questions about the company’s identity. Court records show the company has registered at least seven assumed business names, including Capytal.com , a name that does not independently appear in New York corporate filings.
None of the three lenders had filed a response in court as of Tuesday.
Where the main case stands
Jade Presents filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection June 6, listing nearly $2.9 million in liabilities against about $393,000 in assets. The company shut down in May after more than 30 years in business, citing rising costs and financial pressure on independent promoters.
More than 100 creditors and at least 5,000 ticket holders to canceled or uncertain shows are listed in the case. A separate but related company, Tickets300, LLC, also filed for Chapter 11 protection the same day, and the two cases are being handled together under Judge Shon Hastings.
Jade Presents is proceeding under Subchapter V, a streamlined bankruptcy process for small businesses.
What’s next
Jade Presents faces a Sept. 4 deadline to file its reorganization plan, the next major milestone that will show how the company intends to repay creditors, or whether it will be forced to liquidate. A second meeting of creditors follows Sept. 10, and a hearing is set for Oct. 15 before Judge Hastings, expected to address the reorganization plan.
The case remains pending in bankruptcy court.
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