Thank you for the details.
And yes, Deborah is correct: anyone asking for money BEFORE they give you a loan is a SCAM. It is ILLEGAL.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0078-advance-fee-loans (whenever we have a fully functioning government again :P)
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/bbb-warns-consu ... moneypaks-34911