MACON - A chain of payday loan and check-cashing stores is being sued by a Macon woman, a day after the state ordered the company to stop making loans in Georgia. <br>
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Shakendra Jolley filed suit in Bibb County against the company, which uses the names ``Cash In Advance'' and ``Cash N Advance.'' In court papers, Jolley said she got a $200 loan from the company in May but was required to buy four phone cards a month for a year, at a total cost of about $1,170. <br>
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Her lawsuit alleges the loan violated Georgia laws against lending money at exorbitant rates and racketeering. She has asked the court to grant the suit class-action status. <br>
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On Wednesday, the Georgia Insurance Commission ordered the company to stop making loans. There are 20 Cash In Advance stores in Georgia, with offices in Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Brunswick, Dublin, Garden City, Hinesville, Macon, Savannah, Statesboro, Valdosta and Warner Robins. <br>
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State officials said the company has no Georgia industrial loan license and has been charging usurious interest rates by selling the phone cards.
