A South Dakota company advertising its high-interest signature loans on national TV and radio is under scrutiny by several states and the Federal Trade Commission.
Martin 'Butch' Webb, who is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, is running his businesses from Timber Lake on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.
Western Sky Financial is one of Webb's companies. It offers up to $10,000 in signature loans overnight.
But when you take a look at some of the interest rates on the loans on the company's website, you'll find an $850 loan can have up to a 343 percent interest rate.
Attorneys General from Colorado and Missouri and the Maryland Commissioner of Finance and Regulation have filed lawsuits against Webb and his loan companies.
The Federal Trade Commission has also filed a lawsuit saying Webb's companies on the reservation are engaging in unfair and deceptive credit practice and illegally garnishing wages.
But in one case a lawsuit in Illinois against Western Sky was thrown out because the loan agreements say any disputes with the company have to be settled under tribal law on the reservation.
We'll tell you why the company is coming under scrutiny nationally, while at the same time providing valuable jobs on the Cheyenne River reservation, tonight on KELOLAND News.
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