Driver Loan, LLC and CEO subjects of Bureau suit

The CFPB has announced it has filed a lawsuit against Driver Loan, LLC, and its Chief Executive Officer, Angelo Jose Sarjeant, for allegedly engaging in deceptive acts or practices in taking deposits from and offering credit to consumers.

Driver Loan, based in Doral, Florida, offers short-term, high-interest loans to consumers funded by deposits made by other consumers. The Bureau alleges that Driver Loan and Sarjeant violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA) by misrepresenting the risks associated with the deposit product it offered to consumers and by misrepresenting the annual percentage rate (APR) for extensions of credit it offered to other consumers. The Bureau’s complaint alleges that since 2017, Driver Loan purports to have offered short-term, high-interest personal loans totaling over $30 million, typically to drivers who work with ride-share companies. The loans range from $100 to $500 each and are repayable in 15 daily installments. The Bureau alleges that Driver Loan deceptively markets its loans as having an APR of 440% when the actual APRs are about 975%.