New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Acima Digital, Acima Holdings, and Acima Solutions (collectively known as Acima) for allegedly deceiving over 100,000 New York consumers. The lawsuit claims that Acima violated New York’s rent-to-own law by “leasing” goods that could not be returned, charging more than the allowable amount on goods, and misleading consumers about the cost of financing provided by Acima. These actions reportedly led to contracts that more than doubled the price of items for consumers. The lawsuit aims to halt these deceptive practices, secure civil penalties, and obtain restitution for affected consumers.
“New Yorkers shouldn’t have to worry about illegal markups or hidden terms snuck into terms and conditions by companies looking to take advantage of them,” said Attorney General James. “Acima took advantage of thousands of consumers who were simply trying to shop for basic goods, like mattresses, eyeglasses, and appliances. Thousands of New Yorkers were overcharged by Acima and fooled by Acima’s deceptive lending practices.”
Acima markets itself as a “virtual lease-to-own” company operating in New York since 2015 with over 150,000 transactions involving more than 100,000 residents. It partners with retail stores and e-commerce outlets to offer financing for items such as furniture, eyeglasses, appliances, and tires. Despite being acquired by Rent-A-Center in 2021, it continued its business model which allegedly misled consumers into believing they were entering loan agreements when they were actually signing leases with high interest rates.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation revealed several deceptive practices by Acima. These included leasing merchandise that could not be returned; violating price caps under New York’s rent-to-own law; charging consumers for undelivered or damaged merchandise; debiting accounts without authorization; misleading customers about financing costs; making false threats regarding lawsuits and repossessions; hiding markups through terms like “Acima Cash Price”; imposing unnecessary processing delays leading to additional costs; failing to disclose legally required information; and misrepresenting the impact on credit reports.
Attorney General James seeks an end to these practices through this lawsuit while also aiming for restitution for impacted New Yorkers and civil penalties against Acima.
James has been proactive in consumer protection efforts nationally. In May 2024, she joined forces with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general against Live Nation and Ticketmaster for monopolizing the live events industry. In April 2024, she secured over $700,000 from Pathward National Association for unlawful account freezes. In March 2024, she obtained $1.9 million from Nissan dealerships in NYC and Long Island for overcharging customers at lease-end purchases. Additionally, in January 2024 she sued StratFS LLC alongside other state attorneys general for running an illegal debt-relief enterprise.
The current case was managed by Assistant Attorneys General Glenna Goldis and Oluwadamilola Obaro under Deputy Bureau Chief Laura J. Levine and Bureau Chief Jane M. Azia from the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau within the Division of Economic Justice led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo.