Officials sue payday lenders

CARSON CITY -- State and federal regulators have sued 10 related Internet payday lenders, including five with Nevada addresses, alleging they failed to disclose loan terms and illegally badgered people for sums far higher than amounts they borrowed.

Companies listed in the lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court, Reno, include Leads Global Inc. and Rovinge International Inc., with mail drops in Reno that conceal the fact that the operation is based in Britain, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said Wednesday.

Other companies with Northern Nevada addresses named in the complaint, filed by Masto and the Federal Trade Commission, include Waterfront Investments Inc. and ACH Cash Inc. of Reno and HBS Services Inc. of Carson City.

Individuals named in the complaint include Jim Harris, a principal in the Nevada companies; and Aaron and Ivor Gershfield.

Regulators want a court order to stop the practices plus fines and refunds of "ill-gotten monies" to hundreds of borrowers around the United States.

Reno attorney Don Hill, who represents Harris, said none of the Nevada companies made payday loans and Harris had "nothing to do" with the other businesses that did make such loans. While some money paid by borrowers to the lenders may have passed through Leads Global, he added, "I believe my client has no liability."

The complaint says the defendants offered people "quickie" loans without requiring a credit check, proof of income or documentation. Loan applicants had to provide bank account and Social Security numbers.

Borrowers typically got loans of about $200 and were told to expect fees of up to $80, but interest rates and other terms weren't fully disclosed and some borrowers wound up paying hundreds of dollars above the loan amounts, the complaint states.

The complaint also says that representatives of the companies badgered borrowers with illegal threats of arrest, imprisonment, lawsuits, wage garnishments and other actions unless they paid the loan principal plus fees and interest.

"Internet payday lenders must know that Nevada will not allow deceptive lending practices to exist in this state," Masto said.

The complaint follows a $50,000 fine imposed in 2007 against Leads Global for allegedly charging a Michigan woman $857 for a $200 loan she took out via the Internet.

Leads Global was fined for conducting unlicensed lending activity and multiple other violations, including harassing the Michigan woman at her home and place of employment, the Nevada Financial Institutions Division said.