loan shark • n. inf., often derog. a moneylender who charges extremely high rates of interest, typically under illegal conditions.DERIVATIVES: loan·shark·ing / ˈlōnˌshärking/ n.

Loan Shark ★★ 1952

An exconvict gets a job at a tire company, working undercover to expose a loan shark ring. Hackneyed plot moves quickly. 79m/B VHS, DVD . George Raft, John Hoyt, Dorothy Hart, Paul Stewart, Robert Bice, Russell Johnson, Benny Baker, Lawrence (Larry) Dobkin, Harlan Warde, Margia Dean, William Phipps; D: Seymour Friedman; W: Martin Rackin, Eugene Ling; C: Joseph Biroc; M: Heinz Roemheld.

LOAN SHARK

A person who lends money in exchange for its repayment at an interest rate that exceeds the percentage approved by law and who uses intimidating methods or threats of force in order to obtain repayment.

In most jurisdictions usury laws regulate the charging of interest rates. Loan sharking violates these laws, and in many states it is punishable as a criminal offense. The usual penalty imposed is a fine, imprisonment or both.