While operating a business on tribal lands may protect you from certain federal laws, an online payday lender can’t just prop up a storefront on tribal lands in order to offer high-interest loans that are illegal in many states. [More]
western sky
Online Lender Claiming Tribal Affiliation Must Refund, Cancel $11.6M In Payday Loans
By 8.18.16
For years, online lenders have claimed affiliations with tribal groups in order to skirt state laws related to short-term, high-interest loans. Today, the state of Minnesota came to a settlement over a years-long, so-called “rent-a-tribe” loan scheme with CashCall, ordering the lender to pay $11.6 million in relief to borrowers. [More]
Payday Lenders Can’t Use Tribal Affiliation To Garnish Wages Without Court Order
By 4.11.14
For years, a handful of sketchy payday lenders have been using purported affiliations with tribal lands to try to skirt federal and state laws. But courts and regulators have recently been cracking down on these operations, saying that a tribal connection does not shield a business from prosecution. One operation facing charges from the Federal Trade Commission has now agreed to pay nearly $1 million in penalties over charges that it illegally garnished borrowers’ wages and wrongfully sued them in tribal courts. [More]
Where Did All Those Internet Payday Loan Ads Go?
By 11.8.13
High-interest short-term loans are illegal in many states, but for a brief moment, lenders sought customers in these states anyway. In ads online and on TV, you may have noticed them: commercials that played up the companies’ Native American ownership, which made them totally legal in states where payday loans are normally illegal. “Nice try,” said state regulators. [More]
Online Payday Lender Western Sky To Stop Funding Loans Sept. 3
By 8.27.13
If you’ve watched daytime TV in recent years, you’ve more than likely seen ads for Western Sky Financial a payday lender operating out of a tribal reservation in South Dakota. Facing lawsuits from around the country and increased scrutiny from regulators over triple-digit interest rates for its short-term loans, the company has announced it will stop funding new loans on Sept. 3. [More]
