Payday Loan Lender Charges Near 700% Interest, Class Action Says

The administrators of a Wisconsin Native American tribe are facing a class action lawsuit alleging that they charge payday loan customers with interest fees close to 700 percent.

Plaintiff Isiah Jones III says he borrowed money from the Lac Du Flambeau Tribe of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians internet lending business as he needed cash to cover certain household expenses.  

The tribe accepted Jones’ loan application and approved him for $400 with a 690% A.P.R., payable in 14 biweekly payments of $110.24, the LDF class action lawsuit states.  

After making payments totaling more than $1,000, Jones says he refused to make any more payments and the tribe accused him of defaulting on the loan.

The payday loan class action lawsuit accuses the tribe’s board members of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

The LDF class action lawsuit also charges numerous board members with perpetuating a usury scheme.

For example, Jones argues that Joseph Wildcat, Sr., the president of the LDF tribe, “is believed to have a role in the LDF Tribe’s use of funds generated by its internet lending and loan servicing businesses, and he is believed to play a role in choosing board members for the LDF Tribe’s business development corporation that services high interest loans for lending entities owned by the LDF Tribe and others.”

The LDF class action states that “In 2010, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that internet lenders were doing business in Pennsylvania and had to comply with the Commonwealth’s banking laws and usury regulations.”

Jones also says that LDF board members knew about this ruling, but failed to change their lending practices to fit into Pennsylvania’s interest rate laws.

In addition, the LDF class action lawsuit states “The Individual Defendants never sought to have any of the lending or loan servicing entities under their [control] apply for a license to lend in Pennsylvania or otherwise seek to comply with Pennsylvania law in connection with loans made to and collected from Pennsylvania borrowers.”

The plaintiff states that he doesn’t yet know the size of the potential Class, but will be able to ascertain the size during discovery. However, he believes that since LDF Holdings and its subsidiary RadiantCash.com has been operating since early 2010, there are numerous citizens in Pennsylvania who have received loans from LDF over the state’s lawful usury rate.

The proposed Class Members of the LDF class action lawsuit are, “Citizens of Pennsylvania who received consumer loans over the internet serviced by LDF Holdings at a rate of interest at or greater than 12% per annum from lenders who were not licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, beginning four years prior to the filing of this complaint until the present; and (b). Citizens of Pennsylvania who received loans over the internet from Radiant at a rate of interest in excess of 12 % per annum, beginning four years prior to the filing of this complaint until the present.”

Jones is represented by Robert F. Salvin of the Philadelphia Debt Clinic And Consumer Law Center.

The Tribal Payday Loan Interest Rate Class Action Lawsuit is Jones v. Wildcat, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-02493, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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