[Asta Funding, Inc. LOGO]                                           Exhibit 99.4



                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                          CONTACT:

Mitchell Cohen, CFO                       Stephen D. Axelrod, CFA
ASTA FUNDING, INC.                        WOLFE AXELROD WEINBERGER ASSOC. LLC
(201) 567-5648                            (212) 370-4500; (212) 370-4505 (Fax)

steve@wolfeaxelrod.com


             ASTA FUNDING ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT PORTFOLIO PURCHASES

      -COMPANY PURCHASES DISTRESSED CONSUMER RECEIVABLE PORTFOLIOS TOTALING
                                  $970 MILLION-

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ, DECEMBER 13, 2005 -- ASTA FUNDING, INC., (NASDAQ: ASFI), a
leading consumer receivables asset management and liquidation company, today
announced its portfolio purchases since the start of its fiscal year 2006, which
began October 1, 2005. To date, the company has purchased distressed consumer
receivable portfolios aggregating approximately $970 million, for a purchase
price of approximately $47.7 million. The acquisition of these substantial
portfolios is composed of credit card and telecom debt.

Gary Stern, Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am delighted to announce Asta's
portfolio purchases to date, which are a great start to the new fiscal year. We
continue to review additional purchase opportunities on a frequent basis and
have begun to witness new opportunities arise within the marketplace."

                         -------------------------------

Based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, ASTA FUNDING, INC., is a leading consumer
receivable asset management company that specializes in the purchase, management
and liquidation of performing and non-performing consumer receivables. For
additional information, please visit our website at http://www.astafunding.com.

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in
this news release are "forward-looking" statements (as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.) Although Asta Funding, Inc. believes
the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon
reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that its expectations will be
realized. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from Asta Funding, Inc.'s
expectations. Factors that could contribute to such differences include those
identified in Asta Funding, Inc.'s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2004, and those described from time to time in Asta Funding, Inc.'s other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, news releases and other
communications, including that Asta may not be able to purchase consumer
receivable portfolios at favorable prices or on sufficiently favorable terms or
at all. Asta Funding, Inc.'s reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission
are available free of charge through its website at http://www.astafunding.com.