CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) – An Ohio man is suing several loan servicers and one of their principals over an allegedly illegal loan scheme.
Gordon Sinclair, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class-action lawsuit Feb. 26 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland against CashCall, WS Funding, Delbert Service Corp. and John Paul Reddam, alleging violation of the Ohio Small Loan Act, violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, fraud, violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, civil conspiracy and unjust enrichment.
The suit states that together the defendants fund, purchase, service and collect on loans to Ohio consumers that accrue interest rates in excess of those allowed under Ohio law.
The defendants allegedly evade licensure by state agencies by using an unrelated fourth company, Western Sky Financial LLC, as a front.
Western Sky allegedly claims to be a Native American tribal entity that is exempt from state and federal laws under Tribal Sovereign Immunity. The suit states Western Sky is in fact a for-profit South Dakota company owned by an individual who is a member of a Native American tribe, but it is not operated by a tribe, so Tribal Sovereign Immunity should not apply to the loans made to Ohio borrowers.
Sinclair and others in the class seek injunctive relief, exemplary and other damages, interests, attorney fees, and litigation costs. They are represented by attorney Robert R. Sparks of Strauss Troy Co. LPA in Cincinnati, Ohio.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland Case number 1:16-cv-00456-CAB