Markets Wired

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has found that racecar driver Scott A. Tucker and several corporate defendants in a Kansas City-based payday lending scheme violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and has ordered them to pay $1.3 billion for deceiving consumers across the country and illegally charging them undisclosed and inflated fees.

“This significant court judgment demonstrates the FTC’s determination to crack down on deceptive payday lenders and the people who run them,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said. “No consumer should be victimized by an unlawful scheme like this one, and it is especially detestable when those who can least afford to be charged undisclosed and inflated fees are the ones being targeted.”

The $1.3 billion order handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada represents the largest litigated judgment ever obtained by the FTC. It stems from a complaint filed in 2012 by the agency, which alleged that the operators of AMG Services Inc. falsely claimed they would charge borrowers the loan amount plus a one-time finance fee. Instead, the defendants made multiple withdrawals from consumers’ bank accounts and assessed a new finance fee each time, without disclosing the true costs of the loan. The judgment represents the difference between what consumers actually paid on the loans and what they were told they would have to pay.

In her latest ruling granting the FTC’s request for summary judgment against the defendants, Chief Judge Gloria M. Navarro found that Scott Tucker ran the operation and was individually responsible for the unlawful conduct. The order announced today bans Tucker and his companies, including AMG Capital Management LLC, Level 5 Motorsports LLC, Black Creek Capital Corporation, and Broadmoor Capital Partners, from any aspect of consumer lending, and prohibits them from conditioning the extension of credit on preauthorized electronic fund transfers, misrepresenting material facts about any good or service, and engaging in illegal debt collection practices.

The operation had claimed in state legal proceedings that it was affiliated with Native American tribes, and therefore immune from legal action, but, in an earlier decision, the district judge found otherwise.

The FTC reached a partial settlement with some of the other defendants in July 2013. In January 2015, AMG Services and MNE Services Inc. agreed to pay $21 million to resolve the charges against them; and in January 2016, Red Cedar Services Inc. and SFS Inc. paid a total of $4.4 million to resolve the case against them.

For information about FTC’s AMG Services refund program, sign up here to get updates by email.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.