8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                              Washington, DC 20549


                                   ----------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 30, 1999



                               ASTA FUNDING, INC. 
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                                    Delaware
                 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

 
      0-26906                                          22-3388607               
(Commission File Number)                    (IRS Employer Identification No.)


              210 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)


        Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 201-567-5648


                                 Not Applicable
          (Former name of former address, if changed since last report)








Item 2.  Acquisition or Disposition of Assets.

         On March 30, 1999,  three wholly owned  subsidiaries  of Asta  Funding,
Inc. (the  "Registrant")  purchased  approximately  $1.35 billion of charged-off
credit card  receivables  from the following four banks:  First USA Bank,  Chevy
Chase Bank,  Bank One  Corporation and FCC National Bank. The purchase price for
the receivalbes was made available to the  Registrant's  subsidiaries  from four
lenders:  Greenwich Capital  Financial  Products,  Inc.,  Rosenthal & Rosenthal,
Inc.,  Sterling  Financial Services Company and Asta Group,  Incorporated.  Asta
Group, Incorporated is an affiliate of the Registrant.


Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

         Exhibit 99.1 Press Release dated March 31, 1999.


                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
the  Registrant  has duly  caused  this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                          ASTA FUNDING, INC.


                                          /s/ Gary Stern            
                                          Gary Stern, President


Dated:  April 2, 1999






                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No. 99.1  Press Release dated March 31, 1999.

EX-99

                                  Exhibit 99.1


Wednesday March 31, 10:45 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release

Asta Funding Purchases $1.35 Billion in Charged-Off Credit Card Receivables
Representing One of the Larger Bulk Purchases in Recent History

ENGLEWOOD  CLIFFS,  N.J.--(BUSINESS  WIRE)--March 31, 1999-- ASTA FUNDING,  INC.
(NASDAQ:ASFI), an emerging leader in the distressed consumer receivables market,
today  announced  the purchase of  approximately  $1.35  billion of  charged-off
credit card  receivables  from a major financial  institution.  The purchase was
made through the newly formed  subsidiaries:  Asta Funding Acquisition I, II and
III LLC. Details of the purchase price were not disclosed.

          Gary Stern, President and CEO of Asta Funding, stated, "I am extremely
enthused about this significant acquisition of receivables, which represents one
of the larger bulk  purchases of charged-off  credit card  receivables in recent
history.  Asta will continue its  aggressive  expansion  into the billion dollar
distressed receivable market which, we believe, will ultimately garner long-term
shareholder value."

          Englewood  Cliffs-based  Asta Funding,  Inc. and  subsidiaries own and
manage distressed consumer receivables and originate sub-prime automobile loans.

          Except for historical  information  contained herein,  the matters set
forth in this  news  release  are  forward-looking  statements.  Although,  Asta
Funding,  Inc. believes that the expectations  reflected in such forward-looking
statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that
expectations can 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 most  recent  Registration
Statement on From S-1, its form 10KSB for the year ended  September 30, 1998 and
the 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 1998, 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.

Contact:
     ASTA Funding, Inc., Englewood Cliffs
     Mitchell Herman, 201/567-5648
     mitchellherman@yahoo.com