They were accurately and clearly reflected in the loan agreement that the customer signed before receiving the loan
To Whom It May Concern:This response to the above-referenced complaint. The Company takes these types of inquiries very seriously and would like to provide you with the below information. However, nothing in this communication should be construed as a waiver of the Tribe’s or the Company’s sovereign immunity, all of which are expressly preserved.The Company is a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary of LDF Holdings, LLC (“LDF Holdings”). LDF Holdings is a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary of the L.D.F. Business Development Corporation, which is a wholly-owned and operated economic arm and instrumentality of the Tribe. The Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe, organized under a Constitution pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C. §§ 476, et seq., as amended, and is identified on the United States Department of Interior’s list of federally acknowledged Indian Tribes. 83 FR 34863-01 (). The Company is an arm of the Tribe. As an arm of the Tribe, the Company possesses all of the privileges and immunities of the Tribe. The Tribe and the Company are entitled to tribal sovereign immunity and they are not subject to state law. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 677 F. Supp. 2d 1056, 1061 (W.D. Wis. 2010) (holding that entities payday loans in Lakeland TN acting as arms of a tribe are entitled to tribal sovereign immunity).The complaint took issue with the cost of the loan. The Company issues loans in accordance with the Tribe’s Tribal Consumer Financial Services Regulatory Code and it is licensed under Tribal law. The customer’s loan agreement provided that it would be governed by the laws of the Tribe, without regard to the laws of any state. Due to its immunity, the Company is not subject to South Carolina law.The customer asked to reach a settlement with the Company. Following its receipt of the complaint, the Company reached out to the customer. The parties then agreed on a payment plan. The Company confirmed the payment plan in an e-mail to the customer on October 9 and she responded, stating “thank you.” Thus, the Company believes this complaint has been resolved.
This inquiry related to a loan from Ningodwaaswi LLC dba Sky Trail Cash (the “Company”), which is owned by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (“Tribe”)
After being told that my payments could only be made via an offshore processor, I got sketched out and did some research which brought to light a slew of illegal activities and schemes that this operation is engaged in including usuary, money laundering, and rent-a-tribe. First, the maximum allowable interest rate for any loan in California is 15%. Skytrailcash charges 559% AKA extreme «usuary». Second, they only process phone payments through offshore processors. They straight up told me that I had to call my bank to allow for my payments to be processed in the UK. This can only mean that they are trying to avoid having domestic records of their payments . I asked myself why would a company with «sovereign immunity» care if they had domestic records-unless they didnt really have immunity ? Apparently skytrailcash cash and several other «tribal lenders» try to affiliate themselves with the Lac du Flambeau native american tribe without actually being a part of them. In a very recent California Supreme Court case, People v. Miami Nation Enterprises, the whole «rent a tribe» scam was addressed wherein companys such as skytrailcash were simply operating «under the arms» of native American tribes without actually being a part of them. Skytrailcash has to be aware of this ruling and are either trying not to have any domestic records kept or cannot get a domestic payment processer to work with them. They know and, more importantly, I now know that what they are doing is in fact illegal and my next step would be to open a case with the FTC if they dont comply