Scott Tucker, who won a class title in the 2014 Rolex 24 as an owner and driver, faces federal indictments in a payday lending scheme.
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The indictment follows a related lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission seeking $1.32 billion from Tucker and the estate of his deceased brother, a sum it said equalled what consumers paid beyond the disclosed cost of their loans.
Tucker is expected to appear in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, some time today.
An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court charged him with conspiracy, collection of unlawful debts and understatement of interest rates to consumers who found themselves drowning in debt after sometimes paying Tucker and his companies 700 percent interest or more for their loans. The Department of Justice says Tucker’s scam grew into a $2 billion business, which he protected from regulatory oversight for years by striking sham arrangements with Native American tribes, including the Miami Tribe of northeastern Oklahoma. It said they were deceived by misleading communications and contracts.
Now, before you jump into the comments and say that these borrowers are stupid poor people who deserved to have their money taken from them because they are stupid and poor, note that many states-including ones where Tucker’s lending companies operated-make it a crime to set excessive interest rates.
The indictment charges that from at least 1997 until 2013, Tucker made small, short-term, high-interest, unsecured loans, commonly referred to as “payday loans”, through the Internet.
Tucker was the owner of Level 5 Motorsports, a team that competed primarily in the American Le Mans Series before ALMS was merged with the Grand-Am Series to form a united American sports vehicle series now governed by IMSA. But the businesses operated largely in Overland Park, and consumers who sought redress from Tucker’s businesses through state courts had their cases dismissed when the payday enterprises claimed “tribal immunity” or that tribal reservations were not subject to state usury laws.
The two men have been indicted by federal prosecutors in NY on charges related to allegedly deceitful payday lending, according to a person familiar with the matter.
He said in Missouri, there’s no limit to the amount of interest a company can charge. The FTC already obtained $25.5 million in settlements with entities including AMG Services.
The indictment said Tucker exploited 4.5 million people through lenders including Ameriloan and One Click Cash that shared employees and costs with 600-employee AMG Services.
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Prosecutors also seek the forfeiture of their bank accounts, vacation home in Aspen, Colorado, six Ferrari race cars, four Porsche automobiles, and a Learjet airplane.
