🧵1/Ω A few things about @crossriverbank, a tiny #a16z funded lender that originated more #PPP loans for "small businesses" than anyone besides Chase, BofA, and Wells Fargo, mostly for people who were not their customers.
Also @coinbase's preferred bank.
techcrunch.com/2022/03/30/cro…
🧵2/Ω They paid @McKinsey a bunch of money to tell the world that "while most banks originated PPP loans to their own customers, Cross River leads in originations to new customers"
mckinsey.com/industries/fin…
🧵3/Ω Unlike other banks that blew up on "fund banking" recently (*cough* $SBNY $SIVB *cough*) @crossriverbank does their "fund banking" differently:
They package all the loans and sell them to weird "fintech" companies like @Upstart. @mikulaja
🧵4/Ω
100,000 #PPP / covid relief loans, mostly to new customers, processed by a super tiny bank @crossriverbank
Basically claiming to have the most incredibly skilled and fastest fraud prevention team at any bank on the planet by orders of magnitude 🚩
nytimes.com/2020/06/23/bus…
🧵5/Ω
Much like criminal mastermind Alan Lane (CEO of $SI) and noted theologian #ScottShay (president of $SBNY), the CEO is deeply religious (and wants you to know it).
They also employ a lot of Haredim, a historically undereducated population in Israel.
en.globes.co.il/en/article-The…
🧵6/Ω
It is interesting to note that #BrockPierce, founder of #Tether and part owner of one of the most infamous pedophile rings in Hollywood history (#DigitalEntertainmentNetwork), also employs a team of Haredim.
jpost.com/business-and-i…
🧵7/Ω
Brock Pierce joined the board of $SRAX / #SocialRealty in 2021.
fintel.io/doc/sec-srax-i…
🧵8/Ω
$SRAX got its #PPP loans from... wait for it...
@crossriverbank.
🧵9/Ω
$SRAX also was just apparently de-listed from the @Nasdaq for failure to comply with filing requirements last week. 🚩
sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archiv…
🧵10/Ω
@crossriverbank is also now the main banking partner for @circle of recently de-pegged stablecoin $USDC fame now that their other banks have all blown up.
(@circle banked with 3 out of 4 blown up banks - $SBNY, $SI, and $SIVB, which is amazing).
finance.yahoo.com/news/cross-riv…
🧵11/Ω
Here's another example of #CrossRiverBank's extensive due diligence on those 100,000 #PPP covid loans: #SoberServicesLLC, which stopped existing in 2018, was given a $466,847 loan by @crossriverbank in March 2021. (h/t @BP77California)
Was pointed out by @MikeBurgersburg that @Upstart might just be doing the BaaS front end and @crossriverbank is the original bank, but I have been told by others that #CrossRiverBank ALSO sells loans to @Upstart. Deserves a closer look.
Either way CRB loans arrangement is weird
🧵12/Ω
So the story of @crossriverbank has a lot of drama. It's got #BrockPierce for the pedo connection, #Tether for some Putin, what appears to be massive #PPP / covid relief fraud for the $ part...
Why not sprinkle in a little Ukraine for good measure?
🧵13/Ω
If anyone's looking for stuff to dig through, here's @propublica's list of all #PPP loans originated by @crossriverbank.
This thread has no doubt just scratched the surface.
projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/ba…
🧵14/Ω
If you wonder why a tiny bank like @crossriverbank might shovel fraudulent #PPP / covid relief loans out, maybe it's because they collected ~$233 million in fees according to NYT
ps the fact that NYT took this at face value is one of many reasons it's a national disgrace.
🧵15/Ω
#CrossRiverBank has biz lines other than crypto. e.g. in 2022 they loaned $105mm to a luxury condo by shady developers #Bushburg and #Moinian deep in the lowest income neighborhood in all of NYC.
"deal makes no sense" - NY RE reporters.
if economy turns loan will fail.
🧵16/Ω
CrossRiver is also one of the only banks besides @silvergatebank / $SI (R.I.P.) to make loans and take crypto as collateral.
They also marketed $WAVES / $USDN, a now collapsed fraud, to customers.
any Waves bag holders need someone to sue?
crossriver.com/weekly-crypto-…
🧵17/Ω
@AmerBanker: A bank originating #PPP loan fraud, doing fraudulent round robin lending with $UPST, banking crypto, and lending out actual $ for crypto collateral is "best place to work" 5 yrs in a row.
Remind you of an "innovative" energy company?
"Let us build."
🧵18/Ω
So what does the @coinbase / Cross River relationship look like? Well.
Apparently the company that shoveled out fraudulent #PPP loans is in the "compliance" business.
Does @crossriverbank still do compliance for $COIN? Because if so lol.
🧵19/Ω
By number of #PPP loans @crossriverbank was #4 in the country. But by dollar figure?
🥈 2nd 🥈
As an aside this brochure seems to be marketed at "woke" which is interesting bc their Haredi employees are among the least "woke" people on the planet
crossriver.com/sites/default/…
🧵20/Ω
Apparently @KabbageInc (R.I.P.) did some actual customer facing work w/r/t the enormous number of fraudulent loan applications @crossriverbank processed.
#Kabbage got bought by #AmEx but is now under federal investigation & bankrupt
Sounds like that #Frank "fintech" scam
🧵21/Ω
Here's some money quotes about @crossriverbank from Forbes courtesy @finhstamsterdam who knows way more about banks and fintech than I do
Reminds me of criminal mastermind Alan Lane's quote about services $SI (RIP) provided. $SI wasn't a bank it was a "liquidity provider"
🧵22/Ω
The @crossriverbank reviews on @Glassdoor are pretty good actually... though I have to say the bad ones are pretty revealing.
Words you see a lot:
➤ "disorganized" (even in good reviews!)
➤ "incompetent"
➤ "nepotism" (remember how that worked out for $SI?)
🧵23/Ω
Some more reviews of #CrossRiverBank on @Glassdoor I found interesting.
Remember how the c-suite at $SI was family of the CEO? Seems similar.
Also disorganized tech startups are a thing but this isn't a startup. It's a bank. "Move fast, break things" is not OK.
🧵24/Ω
@crossriverbank has been in some hot water in the pre-Jurassic era of a few years ago with not just one but two government agencies that protect consumers: the #FDIC and the #CFPB. (h/t @RasooliSheida, @finhstamsterdam)
➤ fdic.gov/news/press-rel…
➤ files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cf…
🧵24/Ω
Perhaps now is a good time to mention that a recent study found that 5-14% of all emergency covid #PPP relief funds ended up being "invested" in crypto, particularly among the less educated.
Discuss.
🧵25/Ω
Or that #CrossRiverBank was chosen as one of the banks that will test @federalreserve's new #FedNOW system
That's right folks, you heard it hear first.
They're gonna plug a crypto bank straight into the fed (maybe bc it was so good at #PPP loans)
🧵26/Ω
Really helps to hire the right people with the right political connections sometimes.
🧵27/Ω
So @crossriverbank has connections to #PPP, famous pedos, ultra-orthodox Israelis, and #Tether.
But tbh it's the last two that really mystify me. Because why are a bunch of ultra orthodox hanging around a guy whose co. laundered money for #Hamas?
🧵25/Ω
Perhaps now is a good time to mention that a recent study found that 5-14% of all emergency covid #PPP relief funds ended up being "invested" in crypto, particularly among the less educated.
Discuss.
🧵26/Ω
Or that #CrossRiverBank was chosen as one of the banks that will test @federalreserve's new #FedNOW system
That's right folks, you heard it hear first.
They're gonna plug a crypto bank straight into the fed (maybe bc it was so good at #PPP loans)
🧵27/Ω
Really helps to hire the right people with the right political connections sometimes, especially if they're ready for their turn at the trough.
🧵28/Ω
So @crossriverbank has connections to #PPP, famous pedos, ultra-orthodox Israelis, and #Tether.
But tbh it's the last two that really mystify me. Because why are a bunch of ultra orthodox hanging around a guy whose co. laundered money for #Hamas?
🧵29/Ω
tfw you wasted time researching & screenshooting examples that @crossriverbank's #PPP covid lending was sus af to tweet when you could have just checked the nj biz news and found out #CrossRiverBank is currently under investigation for money crimes.
njbiz.com/cross-river-ba…
@crossriverbank 🧵30/Ω
So @coinbase / @circle / $USDC's bank is under investigation for money crimes (probably because it committed money crimes).
No wonder $COIN is looking for a new office.
Heard Uzbekistan is nice. Has lots of sun and no extradition treaties.
coindesk.com/business/2023/…
🧵31/Ω
"@crossriverbank's less hands-on approach ... may have led it to approve riskier loans... U. of Texas graph shows ~20%¹ of CRB's loans had at least 1 suspicious indicator."
Next highest? 10%
¹ ~$2.6 billion in #PPP $ 😱 (h/t @finhstamsterdam)
🧵32/Ω
😱WOW😱 missed this part about @crossriverbank: The US Government owes Cross River $300 million (⁉️) in loan forgiveness... that it's not willing to forgive.
No wonder so many CRB #PPP loans' status is "Not Disclosed" instead of "forgiven": they have a $300m hole.
#ngmi
🧵33/Ω
I did a whole other thread about the Congressional report on how fintechs (including @crossriverbank) had facilitated fraudulent #PPP / covid relief loans and are now under investigation.
🧵34/Ω
Then I did a whole *other* thread going through @crossriverbank's holding company's annual income statements filed with the state of New Jersey.
🧵35/Ω
One thing that's weird here is that some of these job listings come up as being for something called #CrossTheRiver but logo and address are #CrossRiverBank.
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