KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A judge has recommended that a Kansas City payday lender pay $132.5 million in restitution to borrowers it’s accused of duping.
The administrative law judge recently made the recommendation in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s case against Integrity Advance, the Kansas City Star reported Friday. The judge also found that the business and its chief executive, James Carnes, should pay $7.5 million and $5 million in civil penalties, respectively.
The federal watchdog bureau maintains that Integrity Advance misled borrowers about how much it would cost to repay the loans. Borrowers were given the impression in loan agreements that a $300 loan would cost $390 to repay, the agency has said. But the loans were set up to auto-renew, meaning that unless a borrower took certain steps to pay back the loan all at once at the first due date, a $300 loan could end up costing nearly $1,100.
The agency said the payday loan business also made unauthorized draft withdrawals from borrowers’ bank accounts.
Attorneys for Carnes and the business on Thursday filed an appeal of the judge’s recommendation. The appeal cites a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that found the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was unconstitutional and that its director could be removed by the president.
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