California regulators have revoked the lender license of Pacific Private Money Inc., a financing firm based in Marin County. The company missed its required 2025 report and didn’t respond to repeated regulator warnings.
The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued the order, adding to a growing pile of investigations and legal headaches for the firm. Investors across Marin County—from San Rafael and Mill Valley to Novato and Sausalito—have taken notice, and both federal authorities and local prosecutors are circling.
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Regulatory action and license revocation
On April 6, Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) commissioner Khalil Mohseni signed off on revoking Pacific Private Money’s California lender license. The company failed to file its 2025 report of loan activity and business operations by the March 15 deadline and ignored two DFPI warning emails sent March 17 and 27.
This license had allowed the company to issue and broker new consumer and commercial loans in California. For now, the firm can keep servicing existing loans, but that’s about it.
Pacific Private Money has 30 days to dispute the revocation. If the order becomes final, the company would have to reapply and prove it can meet all regulatory requirements to get its license back.
If the final order confirms revocation, the firm will lose its lending status. Regulators say this action replaces the earlier suspension as they keep digging into concerns about Pacific Private Money’s operations and liquidity.
For people in Marin County and North Bay towns like San Rafael, Larkspur, Corte Madera, and Novato, the move raises new questions about who’s really qualified to manage loans and investor funds in the region.
What this means for Pacific Private Money
With the license gone, Pacific Private Money must start over if it wants to lend in California again. Until then, it can only service loans already on the books.
Clients in Sausalito and Tiburon who hold notes or lines of credit with the firm might see business as usual for now, but new lending and brokered deals? Those are on hold. The company, based in Marin County, has drawn skepticism as investors and folks in Mill Valley and nearby towns wait for some real answers about its finances and compliance.
The backstory: suspension and liquidity concerns
Earlier, regulators suspended Pacific Private Money’s license while they looked into claims the firm stopped monthly investor distributions and froze withdrawals in December. The company faced a severe liquidity crunch.
That suspension signaled a serious investigation into whether Pacific Private Money could meet its promises to investors in Marin, Sonoma, and beyond. The revocation replaces the temporary status, but the probe isn’t going away anytime soon.
Local officials are still watching. Investor protections in the North Bay remain a hot topic, especially as small businesses in San Rafael and San Anselmo rely on credit—and investors want their money safe.
Local and federal responses
The Marin County District Attorney’s Office hasn’t offered any updates yet on parallel state investigations. They’re still working with federal authorities in the wider San Francisco area.
At the federal level, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman has called on the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Pacific Private Money and related entities. The involvement of the FBI and SEC ramps things up and highlights ongoing concerns about investor protections in Marin County, especially around Fairfax, Sausalito, and Corte Madera, where investor activity has been pretty noticeable lately.
Investor lawsuits and Marin County in courts
More than 100 investors have filed lawsuits in Marin County Superior Court against Pacific Private Money officials and related entities in recent months.
Court records show defendants haven’t filed responses yet. The docket of civil actions keeps growing, all tied to alleged mismanagement, delays, and other issues with the firm’s operations.
Residents from Belvedere, San Geronimo, and a bunch of other towns are following the case closely. Headline activity in San Rafael and Novato has pulled even more attention to what this could mean for private lending around here.
What investors and local residents should know:
- Existing loan servicing is still happening for now, but nobody really knows if new lending will resume soon.
- The 30-day window to dispute the DFPI revocation only starts after the order is finalized, so permanent regulatory outcomes could be delayed.
- Local authorities, including the Marin County DA’s Office and federal partners, are staying involved as these lawsuits play out.
- People from Mill Valley to Sausalito, and Larkspur to San Rafael, are watching to see how this shakes up private lending norms in Marin County.
Honestly, the next few weeks might be telling. Will Pacific Private Money manage to get its license back, or are we looking at new ownership or a total shake-up in Marin’s loan markets? Time will tell.
Here is the source article for this story: State revokes Marin County lender’s license as investigations continue
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