- Targeting unsuspecting Americans, a group of payday lenders made millions off small loans with undisclosed charges, inflated interest rates and incomprehensible rules. But the way the laws are written, is that a crime or just business?
- The film opens by showing a professional car race with narration from Scott Tucker, the driver. The film then cuts to the cars being loaded into a large 18-wheeler - seized by the government then sold. As the seizure of the racing cars was happening, Tucker's wife Kim is in complete denial saying that the problem boils down to "a number in a box" - this was the TILA Box (Truth in Lending Act). The film then backtracks to explain why the seizure happened. Scott Tucker's race cars and extravagant mansion were the result of his business: Payday loans. The documentary first follows Walter Archer who found himself in need of quick cash. The payday loan industry started by advertising in the yellow pages. Scott took them to the Internet. Walter took out a loan from 1-Click Cash which seemed like a way to bridge the gap in his income. A $500 loan required $650 to repay. But there were clauses in the on-line loan agreement which required full repayment or renewal fees would be added. So withdrawals from his credit card account didn't apply to the principal. That sounds illegal and it is. A Colorado woman took out two loans then discovered the lenders were not allowed to operate in the state so she wrote to the Colorado Attorney General who made inquiries. At this point 2 letters arrived, one from each of 2 Indian tribes. Scott had approached the tribes and struck deals with them giving them a piece of the loan repayment while retaining ownership of the payday loan companies. So the state couldn't prosecute them because the tribes were separate nations. After the jurisdictional problems were solved, the focus shifted to show that the loan agreements were deceptive and didn't reflect what the borrowers were asked to repay. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) won a judgment over $1 Billion against Scott for his payday loan practices and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. His lawyer (who helped him set up the Indian operation) received 8 years in prison. The last 20 minutes of the documentary consists of "Poor Me" from those involved even though the business violated state laws but was set up to intentionally avoid them. Final question to Scott: "Are you a moral person?" Scott's answer: "I'm a business person."
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