Zeke Faux and Zachary Mider are reporting for Bloomberg state Attorney General Barbara Underwood has opened an investigation into potential abuses by finance firms that offer quick money to small businesses nationwide. Underwood's office is looking into whether merchant cash-advance companies engaged in fraud or abused the state court system. Last week the office subpoenaed New Jersey-based Yellowstone Capital LLC, one of the largest cash-advance companies. “It’s reprehensible to defraud, deceive and harass small-business owners through predatory debt-collection practices and the abuse of our court system,” Underwood said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “If a company is engaging in fraudulent and deceptive conduct, we want to know.” A spokesman for Yellowstone had no immediate comment. Underwood’s office has been monitoring the cash-advance business for some time and opened a formal investigation last month. The civil probe is in its early stages and may not lead to any enforcement action. A person familiar with the matter said additional companies are likely to face scrutiny. Cash-advance companies charge interest rates that can exceed 400 percent annualized, and they get around state usury laws by saying cash advances against future business receipts are not loans. Read the full story at Bloomberg [dot] com.