InfoBytes Blog
Missouri Disbands Eight Payday Loan Operations
On March 5, Missouri AG Chris Koster announced an agreement to cease operations with eight unlicensed online payday loan businesses, provide $270,000 in restitution, and forgive all loan balances for Missouri consumers. According to Koster, an individual ran the numerous payday loan businesses from a Native American reservation in South Dakota and sold short-term loans to Missouri consumers, taking advantage of Missouri residents “through outrageous fees and unlawful garnishments.” The judgment obtained “permanently prohibits” the individual and his businesses from “making or collecting on any loans in Missouri, and it cancels existing loan balances for his Missouri customers.” Additionally, the judgment requires that the individual running the businesses inform all credit reporting agencies to remove the information they received on the customers who were negatively affected by the short-term loan sales.