The Attorney General Races That Matter for Alternative Business Lending
Voters in 30 states chose attorneys general on Nov. 3rd. For alternative business lending, a handful of those races carry more weight than the rest. In several states, the attorney general, not a banking regulator, is the only office that can enforce the commercial financing disclosure law. In New York, the attorney general's office has brought the largest merchant cash advance cases on record.
Here is how the five races to watch turned out, and what each office has done in this market.
The results
New York: Letitia James (D), the incumbent, faced Saritha Komatireddy (R). Winner: Letitia James (D) 60.1%
Florida: James Uthmeier (R), appointed in 2025, faced former state Sen. JosĂ© Javier RodrĂguez (D). Winner: James Uthmeier (R) 50.9%
Georgia (open seat): state Sen. Brian Strickland (R) faced state Rep. Tanya Miller (D). Winner: Tanya Miller (D) 55.6%
Kansas: Kris Kobach (R), the incumbent, faced Chris Mann (D) in a rematch of 2022. Winner: Not called as of Wednesday evening when Mann led by about 12,800 votes: 50.6% vs 49.4%
Texas (open seat): state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R) faced state Sen. Nathan Johnson (D), with Libertarian Tom Oxford also on the ballot. Winner: Nathan Johnson (D) 52.4%
Where the attorney general is the only enforcer
Florida's Commercial Financing Disclosure Law is direct about who enforces it.
"The Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce this part." Fla. Stat. § 559.9615
Fines run $500 per incident, up to $20,000, and $1,000 per incident, up to $50,000, for violations after the attorney general gives notice. The law creates no private right of action, so the attorney general's office is the only path to enforcement.
Georgia's disclosure law, which took effect for compliance on Jan. 1, 2024, also gives the attorney general exclusive enforcement authority, with the same penalty tiers. Kansas followed in 2024. Its legislative summary says the law "vests the authority to enforce compliance with the Act exclusively with the Attorney General." Missouri's statute vests enforcement exclusively in its attorney general as well, and Virginia's attorney general can go to court to stop violations of that state's law.
Of the states with attorney general enforcement, Florida, Georgia and Kansas all elected attorneys general this year. In those three states, the winner's priorities decide how actively disclosure rules are enforced against funders and brokers.
New York: Where the biggest MCA cases are
New York's disclosure law is enforced by the Department of Financial Services, not the attorney general. The attorney general's office, though, has been the most active litigator against merchant cash advance companies, using its authority over repeated illegality and fraud.
In January 2025, the office announced a settlement with 25 companies controlled by Yellowstone Capital and two of its officers. The total judgment was $1.065 billion, including the cancellation of more than $534 million in balances owed by businesses. The companies agreed to leave the merchant cash advance industry.
"The $1.065 billion total judgment is the largest consumer settlement obtained by OAG, excluding multistate settlements." New York Attorney General's office, Jan. 22, 2025
In February 2026, the Appellate Division, First Department, upheld the finding that Richmond Capital Group and related defendants were liable for usury and fraud. The court found the agreements were loans in substance, citing fixed daily payments and reconciliation that was not performed in practice. It vacated the $77.3 million money award and sent it back for recalculation, and it held that the state was not entitled to disgorgement.
In June 2026, the office filed a petition against Mediation and Civil Arbitration, Inc., which does business as RapidRuling, and two individuals. The office alleges the service presented itself as independent while working with merchant cash advance companies, and that small businesses did not appear in 97% of the roughly 3,000 arbitrations it handled in its first three years. The office is asking the court to dismiss pending MCA arbitrations and bar the service from working for MCA companies. The allegations have not been decided.
With James reelected to a third term, the office carries those matters forward, including the RapidRuling petition and the recalculation in Richmond Capital.
Texas: An open seat, but a different enforcer
Texas also elected a new attorney general, Democrat Nathan Johnson, the first Democrat to win the office since 1994. That office does not enforce the state's new sales-based financing law. HB 700 gives that job to the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner, which can impose a civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation. Providers and brokers must register with the OCCC by Dec. 31, 2026.
Regulators, not attorneys general, elsewhere
Utah's disclosure law is enforced by its Department of Financial Institutions. California's commercial financing rules run through the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, whose commissioner is appointed by the governor. Under AB 2116, signed Sept. 30, 2026, California will require a license for commercial financing of $500,000 or less starting in 2028.
For funders and brokers, the practical step is the same in every state with a disclosure law: check that offers and disclosures meet the statute before a new office sets its priorities. In Florida and Georgia, those priorities now belong to Uthmeier and Miller. In Kansas, they will belong to either Mann or Kobach once the race is called.
