Western Sky Financial does more than provide payday loans in violation of many state usury laws. According to the Federal Trade Commission, it also has been illegally garnishing wages of customers based on tribal court orders without proper jurisdiction.
The FTC sued Western Sky Financial and its related entities for violations of the FTC Act. These violations include:
- Disclosing evidence of a debt owed to customers’ employers without the customers’ consent.
- Telling employers that the customers had been given the optioin to dispute the debt.
- Submitting garnishment order to employers and falsely claiming they had the legal right to do so.
Western Sky Financial sued customers in the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court, obtaining judgments against them and garnishment orders. The problem with this approach is that, according to the FTC, the tribal court only has jurisdiction over members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe that actually live on the reservation.
Western Sky Financial has been the most popular payday loan service on television and the internet over the past couple of years, advertising on major networks such as ESPN and dominating payday lending on the internet. The company also has related entities which have also been sued by the FTC. These include:
- Payday Financial, LLC
- Great Sky Finance, LLC
- Red Stone Financial, LLC
- Management Systems, LLC
- 24-7 Cash Direct, LLC
- Red River Ventures, LLC
- High Country Ventures, LLC
- Financial Solutions, LLC
Owner Martin A. Webb has also been sued by the FTC. It should be noted that Maryland and Colorado have sued Western Sky for violating state usury limits.
Western Sky routinely charges interest rates ranging from 139.22% to 194.7% APR. It is expensive and in direct violation of usury laws in several states. As is represented by this action by the FTC, Western Sky Financial cannot hide behind the protections provided by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and also require its non-tribal customers to submit to court actions within its tribal court.
Long is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Industrial Relations. He subsequently received his Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. His Certificate in Financial Planning was issued by Florida State University.
Long has achieved the Accredited Credit Counselor and Accredited Financial Counselor certifications through the Association for Financial Counseling, Planning and Education. Long originally achieved the Certified Credit Counselor designation through the National Institute for Financial Education.
In addition to years of nonprofit leadership, Long has been an innovator in the field of volunteer tax return preparation programs. He assists volunteer associations and nonprofit organizations who seek to integrate credit counseling and asset-building programs with free personal income tax preparation. His approach to using free credit reports as both an incentive and a screening tool for placement into asset-building programs has been shared with members of the National Community Tax Coalition, the EITC-Carolinas Initiative of MDC, Inc. and nonprofit groups across the Carolinas.
Long assists members of our armed forces in the Carolinas, Iowa, Rhode Island, Georgia and Germany with financial readiness. Please support our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors!
Favorite quote:
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Thomas Jefferson
- Help with Rent in North Carolina - November 6, 2014
- Help with Paying Rent in Mecklenburg County - November 6, 2014
- Help with Paying Rent in Wake County - November 6, 2014