Lawsuit Goes After Texas Backers Of Tribal Lending Operation

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HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Two Vermont women suing over the online lending practices of a company owned by a Montana Native American tribe are now going after the company's Texas backers.

Jessica Gingras and Angela Given filed new claims in U.S District Court in Vermont Tuesday alleging that Fort Worth-based Think Finance Inc. and its subsidiaries conspired with the Chippewa Cree Tribe's Plain Green LLC in a racketeering scheme designed to defraud poor people.

They are asking U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha to certify a class-action lawsuit for thousands of people who borrowed money from Plain Green at high interest rates. The lawsuit claims the company exploits and extorts people who need emergency cash and have no other borrowing options.

Think Finance officials and chairman Kenneth Rees did not return calls for comment.

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