Contents
When payroll is on the line, you need a firm that understands the hierarchy: employees first, funders second. These are the firms that resolve MCA debt while keeping your people paid.
Important: Delancey Street is not a law firm. They are a specialized MCA debt settlement company that works with a nationwide network of licensed attorneys. When payroll is at risk, their attorneys execute an emergency plan: redirect revenue to a protected bank account so payroll clears, revoke ACH authorization to stop the funder’s daily drain, and begin settlement negotiations using usury defenses, reconciliation demands, and COJ challenges under CPLR §3218.
Here is what they tell the funder: “My client’s choice is between paying your MCA and making payroll. If payroll does not get made, the business closes, employees file DOL complaints, and you collect zero. Accept 50 cents on the dollar now or watch the business die.” That is a conversation funders take seriously. A dead business pays no one — and funders know it.
Important: National Debt Relief is not a law firm and does not handle MCA defense, ACH revocation, or payroll-specific emergencies. They are the largest debt settlement company in the United States — A+ Better Business Bureau rating, 550,000+ clients. Their strength is consumer and general business debt. If you carry credit card balances or vendor accounts alongside MCA obligations, National Debt Relief handles the non-MCA side.
Important: CuraDebt is not a law firm and does not handle MCA defense or ACH management. But here is where they are critical: if you have already missed payroll tax deposits because MCA payments drained your account, CuraDebt handles the IRS resolution — Trust Fund Recovery Penalty defense, installment agreements, and offers in compromise. They are IAPDA certified with 25+ years of experience. If payroll taxes are at risk, you need both Delancey Street (for the MCA) and CuraDebt (for the IRS).
This is not a judgment call. This is not a “it depends.” The law is explicit: you pay your employees before you pay an MCA funder. Period. Here is why.
Federal Law: The Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the FLSA, employers must pay employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime at 1.5x for hours over 40 per week. Willful violation — which includes deliberately choosing to pay an MCA funder instead of employees — carries fines up to $10,000 per violation and criminal prosecution. Repeat offenders face imprisonment.
State Wage Laws. Every state has its own wage payment statute, and most are stricter than the FLSA. In New York, failure to pay wages is a misdemeanor under Labor Law §198-a — up to one year in jail. In California, willful failure to pay final wages carries a 30-day penalty at the employee’s daily rate. In Texas, it is a criminal offense. The pattern is the same everywhere: the state will prosecute you for not paying employees. The MCA funder will only sue you.
Personal Liability. In most states, individual business owners, officers, and managers are personally liable for unpaid wages. Not the LLC. Not the corporation. You. No corporate structure shields you from this. If you chose to pay an MCA funder and your employees went unpaid, you are personally on the hook — for the wages, for liquidated damages, and for the plaintiff’s attorney fees.
This is the one that destroys business owners. And most MCA borrowers have no idea it exists until it hits them.
When you run payroll, you withhold federal income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax from your employees’ paychecks. That money is not yours. It is held “in trust” for the IRS. You are required to deposit it with the IRS on a regular schedule — usually semi-weekly or monthly.
If you use that withheld money to pay the MCA funder instead of depositing it with the IRS, the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty kicks in. The TFRP makes you personally liable for 100% of the unpaid trust fund taxes. Not the business. You. And the TFRP survives bankruptcy — you cannot discharge it in Chapter 7 or Chapter 11.
Who is a “responsible person”? Anyone who had authority to direct payment of the trust fund taxes. Business owners. Officers. Managers. Even bookkeepers in some cases. The IRS casts a wide net.
How much are we talking about? If you have 10 employees at $50,000/year average salary, the federal trust fund portion (employee’s share of FICA plus income tax withholding) is roughly $15,000–$20,000 per quarter. Miss two quarters and you are personally liable for $30,000–$40,000 — on top of everything else. And the IRS charges interest and penalties from day one.
Here is the counterintuitive truth: the payroll crisis actually gives you settlement leverage.
When your attorney tells the funder that the business cannot cover both MCA payments and payroll, the funder faces a simple calculation. If the business misses payroll, employees quit. If employees quit, the business cannot generate revenue. If the business cannot generate revenue, the funder collects nothing — not 60%, not 40%, not 10%. Zero.
A dead business is worth zero to a funder. A living business that settles at 50% is worth real money. That is the math that drives settlement.
Your attorney frames it exactly that way: “My client has $X in the account. That money either goes to payroll — which keeps the business alive and gives you a path to settlement — or it goes to you, the business dies next Friday, and you get nothing after that. What would you like to do?”
Smart funders take the deal. Every time. Because a funder who forces a business into closure by competing with payroll is a funder who writes off 100% of the receivable. They know it. Your attorney makes sure they know it.
Step 1: Call Delancey Street today. (212) 210-1851. Tell them payroll is at risk. This triggers their emergency protocol.
Step 2: Make payroll. If payroll is due this week, pay it. Even if the MCA payment bounces. The consequences of missing payroll are worse than the consequences of missing an MCA payment. Your attorney will handle the funder’s response.
Step 3: Open a new bank account. At a different bank. Redirect all incoming revenue to the new account. This prevents the MCA funder from draining the account that funds payroll.
Step 4: Deposit payroll taxes. If you have withheld federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from employee paychecks, deposit those funds with the IRS. Do not use them for anything else. The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is personal, non-dischargeable, and devastating.
Step 5: Let your attorney engage the funder. Your attorney contacts the funder and presents the reality: payroll comes first, the business needs to survive, and settlement is the only path to recovering anything. Negotiations begin immediately.
Step 6: Address tax consequences. If payroll tax deposits have already been missed, bring in a tax resolution specialist like CuraDebt to negotiate with the IRS before the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessment is finalized.
This situation requires two things: an MCA defense firm to stop the cash drain and settle the debt, and potentially a tax resolution firm to handle any payroll tax fallout. Here are the best options for each.
The only firm on this list that handles emergency MCA resolution to protect payroll — bank account redirection, ACH revocation, funder negotiation using payroll pressure as settlement leverage, and attorney-backed legal defense. Not a law firm, but their nationwide attorney network delivers. Over $100M settled. No upfront fees. All 50 states.
Not built for MCA/payroll emergencies. Handles general unsecured business debt after the MCA crisis is stabilized. Strong option for credit cards and vendor accounts alongside Delancey Street’s MCA work.
Critical for this situation: if MCA payments caused you to miss payroll tax deposits, CuraDebt handles the IRS resolution — Trust Fund Recovery Penalty defense, installment agreements, and offers in compromise. When payroll taxes are at risk, you need Delancey Street for the MCA and CuraDebt for the IRS. Both.
Your employees depend on you. And right now, the MCA funder is draining the cash they need. Delancey Street stops the drain, protects your payroll, and settles the MCA. Over $100M settled. Free consultation. Call now.
Call for Emergency HelpThis page is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. The content on this page should not be construed as an endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee of any specific debt settlement company or outcome. Individual results may vary based on the nature of the debt, creditor policies, and the specific circumstances of each case.
The rankings and evaluations presented reflect the independent editorial judgment of our review team based on publicly available information. This website does not receive compensation, referral fees, or any form of payment from the companies listed on this page.
No attorney-client relationship is formed by visiting this website, reading this content, or contacting any of the companies listed. Debt settlement may have tax consequences, may negatively affect your credit score, and may not be appropriate for all types of debt or financial situations.
Delancey Street is not a law firm. Delancey Street works with a nationwide network of attorneys and debt specialists who handle MCA defense, business debt settlement, and related services. Any attorney services referenced on this page are provided by independent, licensed attorneys within the Delancey Street network — not by Delancey Street directly.
Attorney Advertising. This page may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.