in 1844 the affairs of james gibbs, attorney of jermyn street, came under public scrutiny. he had been acting as a money scrivener, investing clients' money in worthless schemes, or using the money to bolster his failing business. over a period of 20 years he slipped deeper into debt and borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates to avoid insolvency. gibbs was eventually forced into bankruptcy, and this resulted in public exposure of the bill discounters' activities – including those of ford. he had been dealing with gibbs for many years and lending at rates of 25%, although his rates were not the highest as others were charging up to 60%.