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AG Brnovich's office securing $4.8M for Arizonans abused by loan lenders

Consent judgment is currently pending court approval
Posted at 5:34 PM, Mar 10, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-10 19:40:38-05

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently announced a proposed consent judgment requiring CashCall, Inc., its owner J. Paul Reddam, and a wholly-owned subsidiary WS Funding LLC to pay $4.8 million in restitution to Arizona consumers.

He says CashCall allegedly took advantage of these Arizonans by charging them with interest rates as high as 169%, greatly exceeding that which is allowed under Arizona law.

"Our office will not tolerate unscrupulous lenders preying on vulnerable Arizona consumers," shared Brnovich. "It is always consumer protection week here, and this case is emblematic of our commitment to hold all companies accountable for any deceptive actions or predatory lending practices."

Back in 2019, his office alleged that CashCall, its subsidiary, and its owner violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act by engaging in a scheme.

The attorney general's office then amended the complaint in March 2020, alleging CashCall formed another high-interest loan conspiracy.

This second deceptive scheme followed the first originating in 2016.

Senior Litigation Counsel Laura Dilweg and Joshua Whitaker, Assistant Attorneys General Alyse Meislik and Syreeta Tyrell, Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section Chief Leslie Cooper, and Consumer Litigation Unit Chief Matthew du Mee handled this case.

The consent judgment is currently pending court approval.

Anyone who believes they're the victim of consumer fraud, you can file a consumer complaint by visiting the Attorney General’s website.

If you need a complaint form physically sent, you may also contact the Attorney General's Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648 or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.

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Caleb Fernández is a digital content producer for KGUN 9. After earning his bachelor's degree from Penn State in Advertising/Public Relations, Caleb went to New York where he learned production assistance, photography and art direction. Share your story ideas and important issues with Caleb by emailing caleb.fernandez@kgun9.com or by connecting on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.