{"id":17851,"date":"2026-06-09T04:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stocks-future.com\/?guid=a531f207037c8136f9e4163721db7aee"},"modified":"2026-06-09T04:57:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:57:00","slug":"zimcal-bimizci-calls-out-medallion-financials-latest-attempt-at-distracting-from-its-core-underperformance-by-using-mfins-favored-tactic-of-personal-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/?p=17851","title":{"rendered":"ZimCal (BIMIZCI) Calls Out Medallion Financial\u2019s Latest Attempt at Distracting From its Core Underperformance by Using MFIN\u2019s Favored Tactic of Personal Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\nMedallion (NASDAQ: MFIN) Loans Are Deteriorating and It is Facing Serious Headwinds<\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\nMFIN Has a History of Using <b>False, Unsavory Attacks on Its Critics<\/b> to Distract (referenced in the SEC Fraud Lawsuit) Including Accusing Them of Federal Crimes<\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\nMedallion\u2019s CEO, Andrew Murstein, Was a Co-Defendant in a Multi-Year SEC Fraud Lawsuit<\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\nMFIN Ignored Warning Signs and the Data 10 Years Ago Which Has Led to $260 Million in Loan Write-Offs (through 1Q26)<\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\n<b>Medallion\u2019s Board and Andrew Murstein Destroyed $363 Million In Market Capitalization<\/b> From 12\/4\/13 (Peak) To 04\/06\/20 (Trough) With the Stock Dropping To $1.32 \u2013 revealing terrible business acumen<\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\nBIMIZCI Urges Shareholders to Support BIMIZCI\u2019s Well Qualified Nominees By Voting the BLUE Proxy Card FOR ONLY BIMIZCI\u2019s Nominees <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fvote&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fvote&amp;index=1&amp;md5=b86ae53e91beb8f1c0a7d453fff626aa\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\"><b>https:\/\/restoretheshine.com\/vote<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\n<b>Both ISS and Glass Lewis supported 2 BIMIZCI Board Nominees and BIMIZCI\u2019s Case for Change<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24MFIN&src=ctag\" >$MFIN<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Activism?src=hash\" >#Activism<\/a>--ZimCal Asset Management through BIMIZCI Fund LLC provides a longer response to Medallion Financial\u2019s inaccurate and misleading June 4, 2026 press release, which was transparently designed to manipulate stockholders and publicly sully ZimCal\u2019s and its nominees\u2019 reputations.\u00a0We have already issued a <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fmaterials%2Fbimizci-rebuttal-mfin-may-2026-presentation&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Rebuttal+Deck&amp;index=2&amp;md5=65a96bf8834558efb6979a98135670b6\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">Rebuttal Deck<\/a> that comprehensively disproved recycled attacks from MFIN.\u00a0Unlike MFIN we have relied on data and the actual written record. But the inflammatory and inaccurate comments are exactly what we expect from MFIN and its CEO, Andrew Murstein.\u00a0Mr. Murstein is under a permanent injunction for securities fraud, paid a $1 million personal civil penalty, and stipulated, for purposes of Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code, that the SEC\u2019s allegations against him are true \u2014 yet the Board protected and promoted him.<\/p><p>\nStockholders should note that BIMIZCI Fund LLC (\u201cBIMIZCI\u201d) \u2014 not ZimCal or Mr. Hodges \u2014 is the nominating stockholder, a distinction Medallion deliberately blurs. Despite this, Medallion elected to lead its press release with \u201cStephen Hodges and his affiliates\u201d because its goals are clear. MFIN <b>uses a sensational headline, makes its attack public and unnecessarily personal (Mr. Hodges is not a nominee), but avoids direct answers to obvious concerns.<\/b> MFIN is using an uncreative strategy that undermines its own credibility with the institutional investors it needs.<\/p><p>\nMFIN\u2019s accusations and half-truths are designed to overwhelm the reader. We will focus on just a few of the most egregious claims from its June 4, 2026 release and we urge stockholders to read BIMIZCI\u2019s May 28, 2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fmaterials%2Fbimizci-rebuttal-mfin-may-2026-presentation&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Rebuttal+Deck&amp;index=3&amp;md5=f79f75ba212495ccee9ff1c351e3e71b\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">Rebuttal Deck<\/a> for a more comprehensive response.<\/p><ol class=\"bwlistdecimal\">\n<li>\n<b><i>Medallion Claim: This is the third proxy campaign Mr. Hodges has launched in three years\u2026 In February 2024, Mr. Hodges threatened that if the Company did not agree to a settlement with him, including two variations on a debt buyout, he would run a proxy contest in 2024 and \u201cevery year thereafter if unsuccessful.\u201d\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><\/b><b>BIMIZCI Response:<\/b> This is the most repetitive, and easily disprovable, lie MFIN has manufactured. In 2024, they accused BIMIZCI of attempting to \u201cgouge\u201d the Company. You can read the source letter to MFIN <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fs%2F6-Proxy-Letter-to-the-Board-of-Medallion-Financial-Corp20240207v2.pdf&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=here&amp;index=4&amp;md5=22b4382315baad7d35efe135c6893da2\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">here<\/a> that clearly shows we did not. In February 2024, we responded to months of clumsy attempts by MFIN to give them a \u201cmonetization\u201d proposal. In our response, the only thing we \u201cdemanded\u201d was improvements in governance, management, disclosures and strategy. Our proposal was just that \u00ad\u00ad\u2014 a proposal. Solicited more than four times by Andrew Murstein. We would have gladly negotiated a compromise, for example, no board representation and an investment lock-up if MFIN agreed to only governance improvements. MFIN\u2019s characterization of our proposal as a \u201cdemand\u201d is comprehensively disproved in the <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fs%2FZimCal-MFIN-Cease-and-Desist-Letter515.2024&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Cease+%26amp%3B+Desist&amp;index=5&amp;md5=dd29d89c09712357b666ce0558404f5e\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">Cease &amp; Desist<\/a> letter sent to MFIN on May 15, 2024. Moreover, MFIN fails to understand that the typical exit for any investor, debt or equity, is to a third party \u2014 not the issuer of the securities. MFIN seems to believe that it is BIMIZCI\u2019s only exit option. As we have said repeatedly, if MFIN improved its business, <b>its securities would be more valuable to third parties,<\/b> which would allow both stockholders and creditors to exit at a larger profit. <b>This is why we are running a proxy contest<\/b>.\n<br\/>\n<br\/>We did not run three proxy contests. In 2025, we simply submitted a nomination notice. We did not file a proxy statement; we did not solicit votes. Instead we informed Andrew Murstein that our withdrawal was specifically driven by a desire NOT to hurt stakeholders. From an April 22, 2025 email to MFIN\u2019s lawyers:\n<br\/>\n<br\/>\u201c[ZimCal] is considering postponing its proxy contest. This stems from ZimCal\u2019s view that... a highly public proxy contest highlighting Medallion\u2019s weaknesses and areas for improvement could result in a valuation drop that will help neither Medallion or our [ZimCal\u2019s] investment... <b>ZimCal has no interest in nor will it discuss or entertain any kind of pay off or buyout of its positions<\/b>\u201d (emphasis added).\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/li>\n<li>\n<b><i>Medallion Claim: In late 2023, [Medallion] discussed offering to purchase Mr. Hodges\u2019 trust preferred securities at a fair price. He rejected it and demanded a premium that would have transferred millions of dollars of value from common shareholders to him personally. When the Company declined, he chose to go public. That is not constructive engagement, but an attempt to create leverage. In his subsequent interactions with us, he\u2026 demanded that the Company... acquire his debt.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><\/b><b>BIMIZCI Response: <\/b>This paragraph contains so many verifiably false inaccuracies it left us speechless. It provides no documentation or proof.\u00a0We have provided both in describing all our MFIN interactions. We did not \u201creject\u201d an offer from MFIN.\u00a0 We never received a formal offer from MFIN. As answered above, we did not \u201cdemand\u201d any payoff. We did not go \u201cpublic\u201d because the \u201cCompany declined\u201d.\u00a0We never, not once, subsequently demanded MFIN acquire our debt and specifically directed MFIN to stop debt payoff discussions, particularly in connection with business and governance improvements.\u00a0View emails we sent MFIN <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fmaterials%2Fzimcal-mfin-emails&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=HERE&amp;index=6&amp;md5=77b3921bb55563fb308698b5c381605f\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">HERE<\/a>. In fact on at least 31 documented occasions (emails, letters, calls, legal communication, shareholder letters and press releases) we have expressed our desire to stay invested.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/li>\n<li>\n<b><i>Medallion Claim: [Mr. Hodges] is primarily a debt holder, not an equity investor. Mr. Hodges\u2019 primary position in Medallion consists of illiquid trust preferred securities purchased at a steep discount in 2021. These are subordinated debt instruments that do not participate in equity upside, and currently pay him 6%, well below market for a security like this. While Medallion\u2019s shareholders have earned a 452% total return since the Company\u2019s transformation began, Mr. Hodges\u2019 debt position has remained static.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><\/b><b>BIMIZCI Response: <\/b>This claim is self-defeating. As stated below, our cash investment is 42% stock\/58% preferred securities.\u00a0On our preferred securities, we receive 6% interest on $15 million par value, or $900,000 per year. Against our $6.7 million cost basis \u2014 the 'steep discount' Medallion references \u2014 that is a 13.4% cash yield. We have collected $4.4 million in interest to date, and the position is currently worth $11\u2013$13 million using Medallion's own peer discount rates and standard valuation methods, yielding a paper profit of $8.7\u2013$10.7 million and a MOIC of 2.3x\u20132.6x. This is an exceptional return for any investment \u2013 equity or debt. Medallion argues our debt has 'remained static.' MFIN seems to understand that its stock appreciates when it performs better but it does not seem to understand that <b>its preferred securities also appreciate at the same time.<\/b> If Medallion instead means its preferred securities held by BIMIZCI should be worth far less than the $11-$13 million market range, <i>it is contradicting its own narrative of value creation.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i>Medallion's 452% return measures from January 31, 2017 \u2014 not a chosen strategic pivot date but the point right after its taxi-medallion portfolio began collapsing (21% of medallion loans non-performing at 4Q16). As of January 31, 2017, market capitalization had fallen to $54.1 million from $232 million two years earlier. Starting the clock at the bottom of a forced restructuring produces a large percentage gain \u2014 it does not demonstrate good leadership. MFIN also deceptively tries to compare a nine year period (Jan 2017 \u2013 Feb 2026) with BIMIZCI\u2019s five year investment period (Feb 2021 \u2013 Feb 2026).\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/li>\n<li>\n<b><i>Medallion Claim: Mr. Hodges is buying up shares to acquire votes and is falsely portraying himself as aligned with other investors.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i>BIMIZCI Response<\/b>: We have $11.7 million in cash invested (42% equity\/58% preferred securities) and are one of the largest stockholders and creditors in MFIN. We have been invested for over 5 years. We have given MFIN two white papers (totaling 35,000 words) outlining ways to improve, we have offered to invest more in MFIN, offered to lock up our investment, and offered to introduce domain experts to MFIN\u2019s leadership. Unless \u201cother investors\u201d are hoping their investment decreases in value, we find it incomprehensible that MFIN continues to make this claim.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/li>\n<li>\n<b><i>Medallion Statement: Who is Stephen Hodges, the founder of a credit fund with no disclosed AUM, no listed employees, and no disclosed physical office?\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i>BIMIZCI Response:<\/b> We understand MFIN\u2019s objective here. We also like our privacy. More to the point: what does it have to do with the governance, compensation, declining profitability, accounting irregularities, and asset-quality concerns we have raised? Medallion has avoided answering those questions.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/li>\n<li>\n<b><i>Medallion\u2019s Prior Efforts to Undermine Critics (documented in the SEC amended <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fmaterials%2Fsec-amended-complaint-murstein-mfin-2022&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=complaint&amp;index=7&amp;md5=51bcaf03b8d94443722b3107b8d4416e\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">complaint<\/a> dated April 26, 2022). Note that after attacking its critics, MFIN subsequently charged off 40% of its taxi medallion loans or $260 million (through 1Q26). The following are Andrew Murstein approved attack articles mostly directed at MFIN\u2019s critics, with strong similarities in tone with what MFIN recently aimed at ZimCal and Mr. Hodges:\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><\/b><i>\u201cOn August 5, 2016, Murstein instructed the Contractor to accuse two individuals who had criticized Medallion Financial on Seeking Alpha of being <\/i><i>\u2018<\/i><i>security law violators.\u2019\u201d\n<br\/>\n<br\/>\u201cOn May 5, 2016, [Murstein\u2019s Co-Defendant] published an article on Blogger News Network, under the alias <\/i><i>\u2018<\/i><i>Clark Reilly,<\/i><i>\u2019<\/i><i> in which he suggested that Seeking Alpha had been bribed to publish articles that were <\/i><i>\u2018<\/i><i>bearish on the tax medallion financial industry.<\/i><i>\u2019<\/i><i>\u201d\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><i>\u201c<\/i><i>Is Shady Short Seller Gordon Gossage an Anti-Semite?<\/i><i>\u201d<\/i><i> \u2013 Published by Murstein Co-Defendant on March 2, 2015 \u2013 Mr. Gossage had challenged Murstein\u2019s business, not his beliefs.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><i>\u201c<\/i><i>Lyft Paying for Shady Short Seller Report<\/i><i>\u201d<\/i><i> \u2013 Published by Murstein Co-Defendant on January 16, 2015 \u2013 attacking a critic of the taxi medallion industry.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><i>\u201c<\/i><i>Recent media and short-selling reports have blown Uber<\/i><i>\u2019<\/i><i>s threat to entire Taxi Medallion Financial Industry out of proportion. Ride-share supply will not impact medallion drivers nearly enough to cause defaults\u201d \u2013 Published by Murstein Co-Defendant on January 5, 2015. MFIN Subsequently charged off $260 million and 5 credit unions with ~$2.5 billion failed due to taxi medallions.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><i>\u201c<\/i><i>[Taxi Medallion] [i]ndustry shows growth across all lending verticals, with increased net margins, zero losses in taxi medallion loans, and plenty of cash to pay its dividend\u2026They [MFIN critics] simply do not understand speciality [sic] lending\u201d \u2013 Published by Murstein Co-Defendant February 17, 2015.\n<br\/>\n<br\/><\/i><b>BIMIZCI Response:<\/b> MFIN management is entitled to defend its business. The answer to criticism, though, is performance and data, not personal and defamatory attacks. The critics Medallion targeted turned out to be right \u2014 about the medallion industry's deterioration and about Uber and Lyft \u2014 while Medallion responded with denial rather than risk mitigation.<\/li>\n<\/ol><p>\n<b>Stockholders of record as of April 13, 2026 are urged to vote the BLUE proxy card before the annual meeting on June 9, 2026. Voting instructions are at <\/b><a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fvote&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=https%3A%2F%2Frestoretheshine.com%2Fvote&amp;index=8&amp;md5=002448605dd4ad870aff41e8007ef3fa\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\"><b>https:\/\/restoretheshine.com\/vote<\/b><\/a><b>. Even if you have already voted with the white card, you can change your vote today by voting the BLUE card.<\/b><\/p><p>\n<b>Important Information<\/b><\/p><p>\nBIMIZCI Fund LLC, Warnke Investments LLC, ZimCal Asset Management LLC, and Stephen Hodges (collectively, \u201c<span class=\"bwuline\">BIMIZCI<\/span>\u201d) have nominated individuals as nominees to the board of directors of Medallion Financial Corp. (the \u201c<span class=\"bwuline\">Company<\/span>\u201d) and intend to solicit votes for the election of those individuals, Eric Kelly, John Kiernan, and Timothy Shanahan as members of the Company\u2019s board of directors (the \u201c<span class=\"bwuline\">Nominees<\/span>\u201d). BIMIZCI will send a definitive proxy statement, proxy card and related proxy materials to stockholders of the Company seeking their support of the Nominees at the Company\u2019s 2026 annual meeting of stockholders. <b>Stockholders are urged to read the definitive proxy statement and proxy card because they contain important information about the Nominees, the Company and related matters.<\/b> Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement and proxy card and other documents filed by BIMIZCI with the Securities and Exchange Commission (\u201c<span class=\"bwuline\">SEC<\/span>\u201d) at the SEC\u2019s web site at <a  href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&amp;esheet=54550031&amp;newsitemid=20260608146602&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=www.sec.gov&amp;index=9&amp;md5=adf0681ae1687b30bb979bea36efb4f6\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">www.sec.gov<\/a>. Stockholders may also direct a request to Sodali &amp; Co LLC, our proxy solicitor, by calling (800) 662-5200, or banks and brokers can call collect at (203) 658-9400, or by emailing <a  href=\"mailto:zimcal@info.sodali.com\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">zimcal@info.sodali.com<\/a>.<\/p><p>\n<b>Participants in Solicitation<\/b><\/p><p>\nThe following persons are participants in the solicitation by BIMIZCI: BIMIZCI Fund LLC, Warnke Investments LLC, ZimCal Asset Management LLC, Stephen Hodges, Eric Kelly, John Kiernan, and Timothy Shanahan. The participants may have interests in the solicitation, including as a result of holding shares of the Company\u2019s common stock. BIMIZCI filed a definitive proxy statement under cover of Schedule 14A on May 8, 2026 (the \u201cDefinitive Proxy Statement\u201d). <b>Information regarding the participants and their interests is contained in the Definitive Proxy Statement.<\/b><\/p><br\/> <b>Contacts<\/b> <br\/><p>\nMedia contact: <a  href=\"mailto:nicole@nh-consult.com\" rel=\"nofollow\" shape=\"rect\">nicole@nh-consult.com<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medallion (NASDAQ: MFIN) Loans Are Deteriorating and It is Facing Serious Headwinds<\/p>\n<p>MFIN Has a History of Using False, Unsavory Attacks on Its Critics to Distract (referenced in the SEC Fraud Lawsuit) Including Accusing Them of Federal Crimes<\/p>\n<p>Med&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infos-businesswire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17852,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17851\/revisions\/17852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}