Henderson city councilman sued — again — over alleged illegal loans  • Nevada Current

Henderson City Councilman Dan Shaw is facing two more lawsuits, accusing him of making illegal loans via a tribal lender allegedly owned and controlled by Shaw and his business partner Greg Jones. 

The filings bring the number of federal class action lawsuits filed against Shaw, Jones, and the lender, Green Arrow Solutions, to six since 2022. Four of the suits, which are almost identical, have been settled in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Indiana, court records indicate.

The new lawsuit, in Illinois, seeks to prevent Green Arrow Solutions, purportedly a tribal enterprise operated by the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians in California, from making and collecting high-interest loans of more than 700% annual interest over the Internet. The company is allegedly using tribal immunity to evade regulation. 

The plaintiff in the case received a loan for $350 from Green Arrow Solutions in February 2023, according to the complaint.  

“The loan would result in repayment of $1,132.28 if paid on schedule,” the complaint says. “The total interest charged would be $787.28, which according to Green Arrow Solutions equates to an annual percentage rate of 852.42%, a rate more than 20 times that permitted in Illinois (36%).”

Shaw, who was appointed to Henderson City Council in 2017 and later won election, faces a general election challenge in November from Dr. Monica Larson.

“The personal and business behavior of elected leaders matters,” Larson said in a statement to the Current. “It goes to the heart of ethics, integrity, and good decision-making. The charges in these current and past lawsuits are serious. Residents deserve better.” 

Elizabeth Trosper, Shaw’s campaign communications director, said she expects Shaw to be dropped from the lawsuit. “It would be inappropriate to further comment on a open lawsuit that includes Dan Shaw or his companies.” 

The Illinois suit, filed May 30, alleges that in an attempt to evade prosecution, “non-tribal owners of online payday lending businesses frequently engage in a business model commonly referred to as a ‘rent-a-tribe’ scheme,” in which “non-tribal payday lenders create an elaborate charade claiming their non-tribal businesses are owned and operated by Native American tribes.”

The alleged scheme, according to the new suit and those filed previously, is purported to shield the lenders from state and federal usury laws under the guise of sovereign immunity. 

“However, the tribal lending entity is simply a facade for an illegal lending scheme; all substantive aspects of the payday lending operation – funding, marketing, loan origination, underwriting, loan servicing, electronic funds transfers, and collections – are performed by individuals and entities that are unaffiliated with the tribe.”

The suit alleges that in exchange for use of the tribe’s name, the true owners pay the tribe “a fraction of the revenues generated.” While the percentage varies, “the number is almost always in the single digits.” 

Tribal administrator Ben Ray did not respond to requests for comment. 

A map on Green Arrow Solutions’ website indicates it does business in Nevada. 

“On information and belief, the list of states in which Defendants do not make loans depends on the likelihood they will face public or private enforcement actions,” says the Illinois suit.

The complaint lists five other Internet lenders that purport to be operated by tribal enterprises, but are owned by Nevada Impact Management, LLC, a company that lists Shaw and Jones as officers. 

“Attempting to circumvent state interest rate caps by fraudulently hiding behind tribal sovereign immunity has been found to constitute criminal conduct,” the suit says, noting a New York jury convicted two individuals in 2017 on 14 felony counts for operating a network of tribal lending companies. 

A Wisconsin suit was filed this week. Only a cover sheet has been filed. The attorney representing the plaintiff did not respond to requests for comment.