Payday loans Salt Lake City Utah

Of Check City

Tracy Rawle took over payday lender Check City from his now deceased father but he has been intimately involved in the business for years, previously serving as the company’s vice president.

The late Richard M. Rawle was allegedly involved in a scheme to bribe Senator Harry Reid of Nevada in order to kill an FTC investigation of a now-indicted Utah businessman, and also is alleged to have illegally given $17, 000 in gold coins to the former Utah Attorney General, who is currently facing numerous felony charges including bribery and receiving unlawful gifts.

The younger Rawle, who had that Utah Attorney General on payroll at his payday lending software company, recently attempted to quash a subpoena in connection with the investigation. In 2008, Rawle was fined $2, 000 by the Commonwealth of Virginia for not receiving approval before acquiring more than 25% of a payday lending company.

Rawle has been at the forefront of fighting against regulations on the payday lending industry for years as spokesperson for the Utah Consumer Lending Association. He has fought against rate caps, legislation that was crafted with the AARP to crack down on payday lenders, and regulations that would have limited the industry’s ability to provide triple-digit APR loans to military families. He has repeatedly defended the industry’s high-interest rates, including the 417 percent APR that his own payday company charges on its loans.

Rawle has made quite the living off of the backs of hardworking men and women struggling to make ends meet. He and his wife own multiple homes throughout Utah including a $519, 000 home in Orem, a $1.7 million home in Provo, another home worth over $1 million in Sundance, and a nearly $800, 000 home in Washington County, Utah.

Others have benefited from Rawle’s success too. Over the past several years, Rawle has contributed more than , 000 to the campaigns of Members of Congress and payday lending industry special interest PACs that, in turn, contribute heavily to the campaigns of Members of Congress and other elected officials.

Rawle Took Over Check City from His Now Deceased Father, Who Was Allegedly Involved in a Scheme to Bribe Sen. Harry Reid

• Rawle’s Father Was Allegedly Involved in an Attempt to Quash an FTC Investigation of an Online Marketing Company by Bribing Harry Reid; Reid Denied The Charge. “Fearing new regulations in the aftermath of the financial crisis, payday lenders decided to make a major play for the support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. They contributed more than $126, 000 to his campaign as the Nevada Democrat attempted to beat back a tea party challenge, hoping that the man who controls the Senate agenda would protect their interests. Their gambit didn’t stop the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Reid supported. And yet, it may have led to Reid getting linked to an alleged bribery scandal in Utah, involving state Attorney General John Swallow and indicted St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson. At the heart of both endeavors was the late Richard Rawle, a Provo, Utah, millionaire who built an empire of Check City locations, including more than 30 in Nevada. He was deeply involved in the federal lobbying campaign and told Johnson he could use his clout with Reid to help end a Federal Trade Commission investigation. The cost: $600, 000. Rawle, in a deathbed affidavit, and Swallow, his former employee, say the Johnson affair was a standard lobbying effort that never got off the ground. Reid’s staff said he didn’t know about the plot and didn’t discuss it with Johnson or try to stop the FTC probe. Johnson, who is charged with a number of financial crimes, tells a far different story. He said Swallow convinced him Rawle was close enough to Reid to facilitate a bribe that would spare him and Johnson’s I Works company.” [Salt Lake Tribune, 5/12/13]

Tracy Rawle’s Father Is Alleged to Have Illegally Given $17, 000 In Gold Coins to Former Utah AG Who Is Now under Arrest for Numerous Felonies Including Bribery

Interesting facts

• Payday loans in Australia are part of the small loans market, which was estimated in 2008 to be between $800m and $1bn a year, although it seems likely that the true market was and currently is higher than this.
  The growth of this market mirrors the growth in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Because the market for small loans...