Pension advance company settles with Virginia Attorney General over high-interest loans targeting veterans and retirees

State Issues State Attorney General Predatory Lending Debt Relief

On November 15, the Virginia Attorney General announced a $51.7 million settlement with a pension advance company, its owner, and related entities (defendants) to resolve allegations concerning allegedly illegal, high-interest loans made to more than 1,000 Virginia veterans and retirees in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA). According to the Attorney General’s complaint, the defendants allegedly “disguised [the] illegal, high interest loans as ‘pension sales’ that could provide Virginia pension holders with a quick lump sum of cash,” and seemingly concentrated the sales in two Virginia areas where a large number of retired veterans and civil servants reside. Following the lawsuit, the defendants shut down lending operations in Virginia and around the country. Under a permanent injunction and final judgment, the court—which declared the defendants’ agreements to be “usurious and illegal”—ordered the defendants to: (i) provide over $20 million in borrower debt forgiveness; (ii) pay a $31.7 million civil money penalty; (iii) pay $414,473 in restitution; (iv) pay $198,000 for costs and attorneys’ fees; and (v) agree to injunctive relief to prevent further violations of the VCPA.