Class Action Lawsuit Claims GreenlineLoans.com Operates Illegal ‘Rent-A-Tribe’ Payday Loan Scheme

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The entities behind GreenlineLoans.com face a proposed class action lawsuit over an alleged “rent-a-tribe” scheme whereby the online lender has purportedly issued illegal, high-interest loans to Illinois residents.

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According to the 18-page lawsuit, defendant Waawaatesi LLC—which does business as Greenline Loans—claims to be owned by a small, federally recognized Native American tribe based in rural Wisconsin. However, the suit accuses the company of falsely “hiding behind tribal sovereign immunity” in order to evade prosecution under state usury laws.

Under Illinois’ Interest Act, Greenline Loans is prohibited from issuing loans to residents at interest rates above nine percent, the complaint says. The filing claims that, in spite of the state law, the online lender has made loans to Illinois residents at interest rates in excess of 300 percent.

The case alleges that “the tribal lending entity is simply a facade for an illegal lending scheme,” as “all substantive aspects of the payday lending operation … are performed by individuals and entities that are unaffiliated with the tribe.”

Per the suit, the operation “does not actually occur on any Tribe’s reservation,” and the non-tribal lenders pay just a fraction of their revenues to the cooperating tribe in exchange for the use of their name.

The complaint also names as defendants LDF Holdings, LLC—which purports to own and manage the online lending business—and its president, Jessi Lee Phillips Lorenzo.

The lawsuit looks to represent:

“(a) [A]ll individuals with Illinois addresses (b) to whom a loan was made in the name of Greenline Loans at more than 36% interest (all of its loans qualify) (c) on or after March 23, 2021 and (d) where the loan was made or a payment made on the loan within three years prior to the filing of this action;” and

“(a) [A]ll individuals with Illinois addresses (b) to whom a loan was made in the name of Greenline Loans at more than 18% interest (all of its loans qualify) (c) on or after a date five years prior to the filing of this action.”

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