Judge rules on reach of FTC Act

When the Federal Trade Commission sued payday lender AMG Services in 2012, the complaint charged the defendants with a host of deceptive and unfair practices aimed at consumers already struggling to make ends meet.

Undisclosed fees and debt collection calls that threatened arrest were just a few of the allegations. The defendants countered with an interesting defense: that their affiliation with American Indian tribes rendered them beyond the reach of the FTC Act. A US Magistrate Judge rejected those arguments and a recent decision by a US District Judge in Nevada affirmed those findings.