Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is developing a reputation.
He’s the guy who looks the other way.
Want him to stop representing the Missouri State Highway Patrol in a case involving seized gaming devices? Funnel tens of thousands of dollars to a political action committee controlled by his allies, and he’ll do just that.
Want him to file a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of a Missouri-based company accused of poisoning children in Peru who live near a lead mine? He’ll do that, too, as long as a $50,000 campaign check is on the way.
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Perhaps that willingness to play ball is what drew David Johnson and Kirk Chewning to Bailey.
On March 31, each manÌýdonated $2,825 to Bailey’s campaign. The amounts seem small compared to other questionable donations the attorney general has received. Chewning lists a Virgin Islands address as his home. Johnson lists a Georgia address. In Missouri Ethics Commission records, both men say they work for a company called SLC, a consultant of some sort. It took me a while to figure out what that company actually is.
SLC stands for Strategic Link Consulting. It is one of numerous firms owned by Johnson and Chewning and connected to their Virgin Islands-based company, Cane Bay Partners. According to , the company provides a variety of financial and management consulting services to investors.
But that’s not what it really is, according to lawsuits filed in several states against the men and their companies. The two most recent lawsuits were filed in Illinois and Indiana in late September. They allege the two men are running an online payday loan operation. It charges up to 730% interest and tries to avoid state laws by being “a front†for various Native American tribes, the lawsuits claim.
Here's how the scheme works, according to the lawsuit filed in Indiana:
“In an attempt to evade prosecution under usury laws of states like Indiana, non-tribal owners of online payday lending businesses frequently engage in a business model commonly referred to as a ‘rent-a-tribe’ scheme. Here, and in such schemes, non-tribal payday lenders create an elaborate charade claiming their non-tribal businesses are owned and operated by Native American tribes. The illegal payday loans are then made in the name of a Native American tribal business entity which purport to be shielded from state and federal laws prohibiting usury due to tribal sovereign immunity. However, the tribal lending entity is simply a facade for an illegal lending scheme; all substantive aspects of the payday lending operationÌý— funding, marketing, loan origination, underwriting, loan servicing, electronic funds transfers, and collectionsÌý— are performed by individuals and entities that are unaffiliated with the tribe.â€
A similarÌýlawsuit against the two men and their entities was settled in Illinois in June. Another case in Wisconsin settled in July; it came after a separate lawsuit there by a Native American tribe alleging embezzlement and fraud. A case that was dismissed in Maryland has been appealed.
Calls and emails to Johnson and Chewning through Cane Bay Partners were not returned.
So why did they donate money to Bailey, their only political donations in Missouri?
Perhaps they see Missouri as a fresh market, as other states slowly close shop. Read the fine print on one of the company’s payday-loan websites, , and you'll find this advisory: “The Tribe has elected not to conduct business in the following states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, or West Virginia.â€
In Missouri, it's possible the two men have noticed the same lobbyist who represents the gaming device companies and backs Bailey — Steve TilleyÌý—Ìýalso lobbies for the Oklahoma-based Native American tribe Osage Nation, which is in the process of .
With several legal cases still pending against Johnson and Chewning, perhaps they can get Bailey to write a “friend of the court†brief on their behalf. If Missouri’s attorney general is OK with backing a company accused of poisoning Peruvian children, what’s the harm of a few “rent-a-tribe†payday loans?