Adam Friedman
banner
friedmanadam5.bsky.social
Adam Friedman
@friedmanadam5.bsky.social
Reporter at the
@TNLookout- @statesnewsroom and for @ProPublica's Local Reporting Network | 615.249.8509 or DM me | "Reporter of less cool news."
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
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.
tennesseelookout.com
August 4, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
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...
www.newsfromthestates.com
July 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
“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
June 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
tennesseelookout.com
June 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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
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.
tennesseelookout.com
June 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
“It’s a nasty loan.”

New from @friedmanadam5.bsky.social:
June 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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. 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.
www.propublica.org
June 26, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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
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.
www.newsfromthestates.com
June 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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, 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.
tennesseelookout.com
June 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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
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.
www.propublica.org
June 26, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
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...
www.propublica.org
May 19, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
(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...
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.
tennesseelookout.com
May 21, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
May 11, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
@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.
I took out a loan from Advance Financial in 2016 to pay unexpected medical bills. I felt ashamed but shouldn't have: hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans do the same annually. I was lucky and paid mine off. 110,000 Tennesseans get trapped in exorbitant interest rates and have been sued by Advance.
Commentary: The buck stops here - Accountability reporting on payday lenders in Tennessee. "What good is a loan, held out as a means to get by, if it doubles or triples in cost? How does it benefit a desperate borrower in the short term if the long-term consequences follow them for years?"
May 9, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
www.propublica.org
May 11, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
www.propublica.org
May 6, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
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...
www.propublica.org
May 6, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
May 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
May 5, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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…
www.propublica.org
May 5, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
www.propublica.org
May 5, 2025 at 10:48 AM
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...
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...
www.propublica.org
May 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
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.
www.propublica.org
February 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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...
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.
www.tennessean.com
February 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Adam Friedman
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.
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.
tennesseelookout.com
February 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM