Massachusetts’ Attorney General settles with lender for alleged usury claims

Courts Massachusetts State Attorney General Usury

On May 21, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) released an Assurance of Discontinuance against a lender for allegedly violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) provision on unfair and deceptive acts and practices. Specifically, the AG stated that the lender made loans with “usurious interest rates” from May 30, 2018, to December 29, 2022. The AG also alleged that, although the CPA prohibited charging interest greater than 20 percent per year, the lender’s Massachusetts loans had an average APR above 100 percent and that the interest on these loans exceeded 20 percent “uniformly.” The lender neither admitted nor denied any of the AG’s findings.

Under the Assurance of Discontinuance the lender will perform a self-audit of all Massachusetts loans and pay a pro-rata refund to affected consumers totaling $625,000. The lender agreed to not “collect, attempt to collect, or assign any right to collect payment” on all defaulted and active loans. The lender must also submit a report based upon its self-audit to the AG.