Tribal Sovereignty Issue

Big Picture Loans “Rent-a-Tribe” Lending Scheme RICO Class Action

State laws regulate lenders, requiring that they be licensed and specifying a ceiling on the amount of interest they can charge. But in recent years, some have tried to get around these laws, and any regulation whatsoever, by falsely claiming that their loan companies are owned by Native American tribes and taking advantage of sovereignty  Read more

Big Picture Loans “Rent-a-Tribe” Money-Lending Operation Class Action

The complaint for this class action outlines yet another “rent-a-tribe” arrangement in which a Native American tribe allegedly acts as a front for a payday loan scheme to charge astronomical interest rates to get around state or federal usury laws. Not only is the tribe not truly involved, the complaint says; the fees charged have  Read more

Great Plains “Tribal” Company Circumvented Lending Laws Class Action

This class action is one of a number brought against Great Plains Lending and others for predatory lending  practices, including one filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General. According to the complaint, Great Plains posed as a tribal company in an attempt to circumvent lending laws. Under the scheme, the complaint says, loans were made in  Read more

Plain Green and Great Plains “Rent-A-Tribe” Lending Scheme Third Class Action

This is the third of three related cases alleging that unscrupulous lenders have used Native American tribal sovereignty to get around state usury laws and illegally extract nearly $70 million from Virginia residents in the last four years. The forty-page complaint contains a great deal of detail on the workings of the two tribal companies  Read more

Plain Green and Great Plains Lending Scheme RICO and Excessive Interest Class Action

This class action involves a payday loan scheme that combines interest rates in excess of 400%, a snarl of interlocking companies, and a “rent-a-tribe” agreement that attempts to use Native American tribal rights as a shield against federal and state usury laws. The name of defendant Kenneth Rees as well as the general outline of  Read more

Plain Green “Tribal” Lending Company Usury Class Action

The complaint for this class action alleges that Plain Green and Great Plains Lending tried to use Native American tribes as a front for their lending activities in order to evade Virginia’s lending laws. Although Plain Green claimed to be owned by the Chippewa Cree tribe and Great Plains claimed to be owned by the  Read more