Payday Lenders Probed by Feds in Ohio Also Gave $1.25 Million to Trump Inaugural Committee Now Being Probed by Feds

Investigations Center on Questions of Improper Influence and Attempting to Buy Access


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this year, the FBI was investigating the former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representative for potentially accepting bribes from payday lenders. Coincidently, the same payday lenders tied to that scandal also gave $1.25 million to President Trump’s Inaugural Committee, which is also now reportedly under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors.

Payday lenders get rich by trapping people in seemingly endless cycles of debt where they only way to escape one loan is to take out another. They shower politicians with huge sums of campaign cash and ultimately leave a trail of scandal and corruption wherever they go,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress.

“Mick Mulvaney pulled out all of the stops to help these financial predators after they gave him tens of thousands of dollars when he served in Congress. As the CFPB’s new director, Kathy Kraninger has an opportunity to hold this industry accountable and protect all consumers from the debt trap they create. She can get started today by stopping Mulvaney appointees at the Bureau from meddling with the CFPB’s payday lending rule, and instead allowing it to go into effect next year.” 

Payday industry powerhouses Select Management Resources and Advance America are tied to an investigation of kickbacks, bribes, and luxury trips for then Ohio Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger. The owner of Select Management Resources gave the Trump Inaugural Committee a whopping $1 million while Advance America gave $250,000. President Trump’s new acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney took thousands in campaign contributions from the same payday lenders.

What You Need To Know:

Federal Prosecutors Have Their Eye On The Trump Inauguration’s Donors For Trying To Buy Access To The Incoming President… 

Federal Prosecutors Are Examining The Trump Inauguration’s Donors To See If They Were Trying To Buy Access

Federal Prosecutors Are Scrutinizing The Trump Inauguration’s Donors To See If They Illegally “Gave Money In Exchange For Access To The Incoming Trump Administration.”“Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether President Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it raised from donations, people familiar with the matter said. The criminal probe by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which is in its early stages, also is examining whether some of the committee’s top donors gave money in exchange for access to the incoming Trump administration, policy concessions or to influence official administration positions, some of the people said.” [Rebecca Davis O’Brien et. al, “Trump Inauguration Spending Under Criminal Investigation by Federal Prosecutors,” Wall Street Journal,12/13/18]

The Probe Arose From The Investigation Into Trump’s Former Lawyer Michael Cohen. “The investigation partly arises out of materials seized in the federal probe of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s business dealings, according to people familiar with the matter.” [Rebecca Davis O’Brien et. al, “Trump Inauguration Spending Under Criminal Investigation by Federal Prosecutors,” Wall Street Journal,12/13/18]

…Payday Lenders Are Among Those Who Gave Big Money To The Inauguration, Including Select Management Resources And Advance America…

Payday Lenders Donated Heavily To The Trump Inauguration, Including A Million Dollar Contribution From The CEO Of Select Management Resources And A $250,000 Contribution From Advance America 

Roderick Aycox Of Select Management Resources Contributed At Least $1,000,000 To Trump’s 2017 Inauguration. Roderick Aycox of Select Management Resources contributed at least $1,000,000 to Trump’s 2017 Inauguration. [Open Secrets Search for Trump Inauguration, Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 11/13/17] 

  • Rod Aycox Is “[t]he founder and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Select Management Resources […]” Stu Whitney, “Whitney: Payday lending’s money man,” Argus Leader, 02/03/16] 

Advance America Cash Advance Centers Contributed At Least $250,000 To Trump’s 2017 Inauguration. Advance America Cash Advance Centers contributed at least $250,000 to Trump’s 2017 Inauguration. [Open Secrets Search for Trump Inauguration, Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 11/13/17] 

Checks Into Cash Contributed At Least $25,000 To Trump’s 2017 Inauguration.Checks Into Cash contributed at least $25,000 to Trump’s 2017 Inauguration. [Open Secrets Search for Trump Inauguration, Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 11/13/17]

…Lobbyists And Executives For Both Companies Are Tied To An Investigation By The FBI Into Whether Payday Lenders Improperly Influenced A Former Ohio Speaker Of The House

Earlier This Year, The FBI Was Investigating Select Management Resources Lobbyists And An Advance America Executive For Potentially Trying To Buy Influence From Ohio’s Former Speaker Of The House

The FBI Was Investigating The Connections Between Payday Loan Lobbyists And The Former Ohio Speaker Of The House Earlier This Year For Possible Charges Of Bribery, Extortion, And Conspiracy To Commit Extortion. “Records released […] to cleveland.com and other Ohio news organizations confirmed earlier reports the FBI was investigating ex-House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger’s ties to payday loan lobbyists he traveled with abroad.” [Jackie Borchardt, “Cliff Rosenberger FBI probe: 5 things we learned Monday,” Cleveland.com, 08/28/18]

  • The Warrant They Obtained Against The Former Speaker Included Possible Charges Of “Extortion, Conspiracy To Commit Extortion, And Bribery […]” “The search warrant mentions several possible crimes prosecutors were investigating: extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and bribery under the federal Travel Act.” [Jackie Borchardt, “Cliff Rosenberger FBI probe: 5 things we learned Monday,” com, 08/28/18]

The FBI Got A Warrant For Communications Among The Former Speaker, Lobbyists For Select Management Resources, And An Executive For Advance America. “Per the warrant, the boxes were thought to include communications with Stephen Dimon and Leslie Gaines, who lobbied for auto title loan company Select Management Resources, and Advance America executive Carol Stewart. The three were part of a London trip Rosenberger attended with the conservative group GOPAC.” [Jackie Borchardt, “Cliff Rosenberger FBI probe: 5 things we learned Monday,” Cleveland.com, 08/28/18]

Among The Communications Sought By The FBI Were Evidence Of The Payday Loan Industry’s Attempt To Illegally Influence The Former Speaker And Other Officials. The communication The FBI Sought Included: “payday lending legislation,”and “any evidence of attempts to influence public officials through bribes or other unlawful conduct and any evidence of official acts taken by public officials connected with benefits received from Stewart, Dimon and Gaines and others yet unknown.”[Jackie Borchardt, “Cliff Rosenberger FBI probe: 5 things we learned Monday,” Cleveland.com, 08/28/18]

Select Management Resources’ Owner Rod Aycox, Who Gave $1 Million To The Trump Inauguration, Even Got A Meeting With The President… After Aycox Donated To A South Carolina Campaign 

Select Management Resource Owner Rod Aycox Was Just One Of Thirty Donors Invited To Meet With Trump After He Donated To The Campaign Of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster 

Rod Aycox Was Among Those Invited To Sit At A “Roundtable” With Trump After Donating To The Campaign Of South Carolina Gubernatorial Candidate Henry McMaster In 2017. “Before President Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of more than 1,000 at a Greenville fundraiser for Gov. Henry McMaster in October, he sat down with a group of 30 people invited by the governor’s campaign. Almost all of those at the 20-minute gathering to discuss economic development have donated to McMaster’s 2018 campaign. Those meeting with the president, their relatives, and their companies and affiliates collectively contributed at least $260,000 through the end of 2017, according to the governor’s financial disclosures.” [ Schuyler Kropf, “Palmetto Politics: A who’s who met privately with Trump and McMaster ahead of October fundraiser,” The Post and Courier, 01/20/18]

Rod Aycox Has Given $5,500 To The Politician Who Invited Him To The Trump Roundtable 

Rod Aycox Donated $3,500 To Henry McMaster On January 27, 2017. [Search for Contributions from Rod Aycox to Henry McMaster, South Carolina Ethics Commission, accessed 12/14/18]

Rod Aycox Donated $2,000 To Henry McMaster’s Previous Lieutenant Governor Campaign In 2014. Rod Aycox Donated $1,000 to Henry D McMaster on August 28, 2014.[Search for Contributions from Rod Aycox to Henry McMaster, South Carolina Ethics Commission, accessed 12/14/18] 

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