LEGAL NEWSLINE

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced a consent judgment Tuesday with a Delaware-based online lending company that will prohibit the company from offering illegal payday loans to consumers in Arkansas.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sure Advance LLC agreed to no longer provide loans to Arkansans in excess of the state's usury limits, cancel all outstanding loans made to Arkansans, post on its payday lending websites that no loans will be provided to Arkansans and pay the state $50,000.

In 2011, McDaniel sued Sure Advance, doing business as SureAdvance.com. Sure Advance allegedly violated state law by using short-term loans with annual interest rates of more than 600 percent. Rates that high are in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the state constitution.

"We were successful in shutting down storefront payday lenders in Arkansas, and our fight continues to protect Arkansas consumers on the Internet," McDaniel said. "We will take action against those companies that offer these illegal loans online and would seek to cause consumers to fall into a spiral of debt."

McDaniel also announced an assurance of voluntary compliance with Government Employees Credit Center Inc., Bexar Partners Inc. and Vincent Ney, the sole shareholder and owner of Bexar. Bexar owns Sure Advance.

Government Employees Credit Center Inc. offers payday loans under the trade names Cash Direct Express and GECC.

Under the terms of the AVC, Ney, Bexar and GECC are prohibited from offering payday loans to Arkansans, must cancel any outstanding loans to Arkansans and must pay $50,000 to the state.