Hakim Enterprises, Inc. v. Reinhardt

Under G. L. c. 271, § 49, as amended by St. 1971, c. 368, if a person “in exchange for ... a loan of money” charges a rate of interest in excess of twenty percent per annum, such person is guilty of criminal usury, and the loan may be declared void upon petition by the person to whom the loan was made. There is an exception: the foregoing provisions “shall not apply to any person who notifies the attorney general of his intent to engage in [such a] transaction . . . providing any such person maintains records of any such transaction.” G. L. c. 271, § 49(d).

The defendants, when sued by the…