The Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation has ordered a payday loan firm owned by a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to stop doing business in the state.

In a decision released on Thursday, the commission said Martin Webb, the owner of Western Sky Financial, can't claim immunity from Maryland laws. His business was ordered to stop issuing loans and to stop collection efforts in the state.

"Western Sky and Mr. Webb sought to exploit the concept of tribal immunity to evade state law and to prey on vulnerable borrowers around the country,” Commissioner Mark Kaufman said in a press release. “Maryland has longstanding licensing requirements and interest rate limits for consumer lending that are intended to protect its citizens."

The decision noted that the tribe lacks an ownership or operating interest in the business

Get the Story:
S.D. lender that claimed tribal immunity ordered to stop making loans in Md. (The Baltimore Sun 6/14)

Relevant Documents:
Commissioner of Financial Regulation v. Western Sky Financial (June 13, 2013)