Western Sky Financial, LLC was a company with ties to South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux tribe that was an online lender of payday loans.
The company became infamous for its sky-high rates. Reading the fine print, a consumer would see that a $10,000 loan would have an interest rate of 89.68% with 84 monthly payments of $743.99, meaning that the borrower would pay back $62,495.16 on a $10,000 loan.
Western Sky claimed that it was exempt from state and federal laws as a sovereign nation, and was only subject to tribal law. This was used as a defense in the company’s lending of loans in states where payday loans are illegal: Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia.
This last was what ultimately caused the company’s downfall when New York, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, and Maryland sued the company for its illegally high interest rates.
Western Sky stopped funding new loans on September 3, 2013. The company’s website, email, and contact information are no longer valid.
Western Sky Financial
Western Sky Financial, LLC was a company with ties to South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux tribe that was an online lender of payday loans.
The company became infamous for its sky-high rates. Reading the fine print, a consumer would see that a $10,000 loan would have an interest rate of 89.68% with 84 monthly payments of $743.99, meaning that the borrower would pay back $62,495.16 on a $10,000 loan.
Western Sky claimed that it was exempt from state and federal laws as a sovereign nation, and was only subject to tribal law. This was used as a defense in the company’s lending of loans in states where payday loans are illegal: Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia.
History
This last was what ultimately caused the company’s downfall when New York, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, and Maryland sued the company for its illegally high interest rates.
Western Sky stopped funding new loans on September 3, 2013. The company’s website, email, and contact information are no longer valid.