325,000 Consumers Scammed, $192 Million in Illegal Fees, and ZERO Jail Time
Crimes against consumers are low-risk, high reward
What happens when hundreds of thousands of consumers lose nearly $200 million in an illegal financing scheme?
According to a cursory glance at consumer finance news, not much in the way of penalties for the wrongdoer.
When a company that provides lease-purchase financing to customers of retailers like Sears and Kmart got caught running a scam that netted them $192 million in fees, the penalty was relatively small.
Tempoe will be forced to pay a small civil penalty and give up future fees totaling about $33 million. All told, the firm will pay about $36 million.
No executives at Tempoe will face jail time.
While the customers, many of whom could not qualify for conventional financing, paid sky-high fees that wreaked havoc on their financial lives, the moneyed scammers are being told to amend their contracts, forego some future cash, and go on about…
