cameraman
02-10-16, 04:29 PM
Scott Tucker is in it deep this time...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A professional race car driver was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday after U.S. regulators previously accused him of engaging in a massive scheme to deceive payday lending customers, a spokeswoman for the bureau said. Scott Tucker, who competes on U.S. and European circuits and had been the target of an investigation by federal prosecutors in New York City, was arrested in Kansas City, Kansas, along with one of his lawyers, Timothy Muir. Their arrests were confirmed by Kelly Langmesser, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and followed a probe related to payday lending entities that authorities said Tucker controlled, including AMG Services Inc.
Payday lenders provide small extensions of credit that borrowers agree to repay in a short time, such as when they next receive a paycheck. The companies say they help strapped-for-cash consumers but critics say their loans leave borrowers with lots of debt due to high interest rates, fees and loan rollovers.
The arrests followed a related lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Federal Trade Commission that sought $1.32 billion from Tucker and the estate of his deceased brother, a sum it said equaled what consumers paid beyond the disclosed cost of their loans. The FTC said the scheme enabled Tucker, 53, to receive at least $419.8 million and pay for luxury vehicles, private charter and jet flights, and for an $8 million residence in Aspen, Colorado.
Another $67.6 million was transferred to his racing team, Level 5 Motorsports, for sponsorship fees, the FTC said.
Lawyers for Tucker and Muir did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The criminal investigation of Tucker was first reported by Reuters in May 2014 after AMG Services received a grand jury subpoena. Tucker's lawyers later said he was "a - if not the - target" of the investigation by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office. The FTC previously obtained $25.5 million in settlements with several entities including AMG Services, which it said like other online payday lenders had affiliated itself with a Native American tribe to claim sovereign immunity from state laws. In fact, the FTC said, Overland Park, Kansas-based AMG, which said it was owned by the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, and related companies were controlled by Tucker and his brother Blaine. The FTC said the Tuckers' payday lending enterprise materially misstated the cost of consumers' loans. Amid the case, Blaine Tucker died in March 2014 in what police called a suicide.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A professional race car driver was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday after U.S. regulators previously accused him of engaging in a massive scheme to deceive payday lending customers, a spokeswoman for the bureau said. Scott Tucker, who competes on U.S. and European circuits and had been the target of an investigation by federal prosecutors in New York City, was arrested in Kansas City, Kansas, along with one of his lawyers, Timothy Muir. Their arrests were confirmed by Kelly Langmesser, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and followed a probe related to payday lending entities that authorities said Tucker controlled, including AMG Services Inc.
Payday lenders provide small extensions of credit that borrowers agree to repay in a short time, such as when they next receive a paycheck. The companies say they help strapped-for-cash consumers but critics say their loans leave borrowers with lots of debt due to high interest rates, fees and loan rollovers.
The arrests followed a related lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Federal Trade Commission that sought $1.32 billion from Tucker and the estate of his deceased brother, a sum it said equaled what consumers paid beyond the disclosed cost of their loans. The FTC said the scheme enabled Tucker, 53, to receive at least $419.8 million and pay for luxury vehicles, private charter and jet flights, and for an $8 million residence in Aspen, Colorado.
Another $67.6 million was transferred to his racing team, Level 5 Motorsports, for sponsorship fees, the FTC said.
Lawyers for Tucker and Muir did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The criminal investigation of Tucker was first reported by Reuters in May 2014 after AMG Services received a grand jury subpoena. Tucker's lawyers later said he was "a - if not the - target" of the investigation by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office. The FTC previously obtained $25.5 million in settlements with several entities including AMG Services, which it said like other online payday lenders had affiliated itself with a Native American tribe to claim sovereign immunity from state laws. In fact, the FTC said, Overland Park, Kansas-based AMG, which said it was owned by the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, and related companies were controlled by Tucker and his brother Blaine. The FTC said the Tuckers' payday lending enterprise materially misstated the cost of consumers' loans. Amid the case, Blaine Tucker died in March 2014 in what police called a suicide.