Arizona Newspaper Praises Attorney General’s Work with Payday Advance Lenders
By Paul RizzoPayday Loan Writer
With election day nearing, The Arizona Daily Star has backed Attorney General Terry Goddard for a second term.
A significant reason for this support? His work to thwart cash advance lending in the state. Here's a summation of a recent editorial on the issue:
Because of Goddard's work in consumer fraud and predatory lending, his steps toward controlling the proliferation of crystal meth labs and his campaign to seize money sent to coyotes involved in human smuggling, the Star endorses Goddard for re-election.
One of the major achievements of the Attorney General's Office during Goddard's first term was the successful prosecution of two former executives of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona. Last month, former foundation President William Crotts was sentenced to eight years in prison, and former general counsel Thomas Grabinski was sentenced to six years on fraud and racketeering charges.
Goddard has also been relentless and outspoken in his attempts to regulate the pay day loan business in Arizona.
Unscrupulous payday cash advance lenders start out by offering consumers short-term loans at 400 percent interest; if that were not bad enough, multiple rollovers can easily boost that figure to 1,000 percent interest, Goddard noted in a meeting with the Star's editorial board.
Goddard's attempts to regulate the industry have been dismissed in the Legislature. State Sen. Marian McClure, R-Tucson, introduced a bill in the last session of the Legislature that prohibits companies from renewing loans to members of the military or their spouses.
The bill was so watered down that its passage gave her no satisfaction. Goddard said he hopes to work with McClure on a new and stronger payday advance bill in the next session, which opens in January.
