Two Northeastern Oklahoma Tribes' Loan Companies Sued By FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against two Oklahoma tribes with headquarters in Ottawa County, claiming their payday loan companies are operating illegally.

The commission filed the complaint Monday in a Nevada federal court against payday loan firms operated by the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma.

According to documents filed by the FTC, over the last five years, the defendants' deceptive and illegal tactics have generated more than 7,500 complaints to law enforcement authorities.

According to the complaint, the defendants' inflated fees left borrowers with supposed debts of more than triple the amount they had borrowed.

Read the FTC complaint.

The FTC lists one typical example, the defendants allegedly told a consumer that a $500 loan would cost him $650 to repay. But the defendants attempted to charge him $1,925 to pay off the $500 loan, and threatened him with arrest when he balked at paying that amount.

The FTC is seeking an injunction to stop the companies from operating while authorities pursue the case.

Neither Tribal Financial Services doing business as Miami Tribe of Oklahoma nor the Red Cedar Services, Incorporated doing business as Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma responded to the FTC complaint.