East Line Lending Issued ‘Predatory’ High-Interest Loans to Indiana Residents, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses the operator of online lender EastLineLending.com of engaging in an unlawful “rent-a-tribe” scheme whereby Indiana residents are issued “predatory” loans with illegal interest rates.

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The 17-page fraud lawsuit alleges that although East Line Lending, LLC purports to be owned and operated by the federally recognized Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the non-tribal lender is, in truth, “fraudulently hiding behind” the Native American tribe’s sovereign immunity in order to dodge state usury laws.

Also named as defendants in the suit are East Line Lending affiliates Wolf River Development Company and its CEO, Crystal Chapman-Chevalier, and New Platform Fund, LLC.

The case claims that through EastLineLending.com, the defendants have made unlawful loans to Indiana residents at annual percentage rates (APR) of more than 700 percent—far in excess of the state’s maximum allowed APR for consumer loans, which is capped at 36 percent.

In October 2022, the Indiana plaintiff took out a $475 installment loan from EastLineLending.com with an APR of 771.78 percent, the complaint relays. The man’s loan plainly violated the state interest rate cap for consumer loans, the filing charges.

According to the suit, the “[d]efendants are aware through prior litigation that their lending operations are illegal.”

East Line Lending is just one of numerous other lending entities purporting to be owned by the small Native American tribe, the case adds. Per the complaint, other lenders include Moose Lending, LLC; Elk Lending, LLC; West Side Lending LLC and Fox Lending, LLC.

The East Line Lending lawsuit looks to represent any Indiana residents who were issued a loan in the company’s name at more than 36 percent interest and whose last scheduled payment was within the last year. The suit also seeks to cover residents who were issued loans in East Line Lending’s name at more than 72 percent interest within the past four years.

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