U.S. v. Hallinan, et al

Criminal Docket Number 16cr130

Brief description of the case:

Hallinan owned, operated, financed, and/or worked for more than a dozen businesses between 1997 and 2013 that issued and collected debt from small, short-term loans that were commonly known as “payday loans” because the customers were supposed to pay them back with their next paychecks.  Hallinan’s companies allegedly charged customers about $30 for every $100 they borrowed, which meant that the annual interest rates on the loans often exceeded 700 percent. Pennsylvania and more than a dozen other states have passed laws criminalizing such loans as usurious. The indictment alleges that Hallinan and Neff conspired to evade such laws by, among other things, paying thousands of dollars each month to three Indian tribes to pretend that they were the actual payday lenders and claim that “tribal sovereign immunity” shielded their conduct from state laws and regulations.

On February 18, 2025, defendant Charles Hallinan filed a motion for compassionate release. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is responding to the motion on behalf of the United States. We anticipate that there will be no public hearing on this motion; rather, it will be litigated through pleadings filed directly with the court. However, if a hearing is scheduled you will be notified.

Although the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 USC § 3771) does not require notice when there is no public court proceeding, we are providing you with notice and inviting you to provide your input. If you would like to submit written comments for consideration, please send your comments to me as soon as possible at 615 Chestnut Street, Suite 1250, Philadelphia, PA 19106 or email me at Lisa.McKie@usdoj.gov. If you would like to express your views by telephone, please call me at (215) 861-8426. Your comments will be directed to the Assistant United States Attorney who is handling this matter. I will notify you if the court orders the defendant’s early release from custody. You may also want to look up the inmate’s status on the Bureau of Prison’s website at https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/

As the victim witness specialist assigned to this matter, I am also available to assist you. Please contact me if you wish to discuss available services. If you have other questions, which involve this matter, please contact this office at the number listed above.