5th lawsuit filed against Henderson city councilman

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man from Illinois filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging predatory lending against a Henderson city councilman. It is the fifth such lawsuit against the councilman – Dan Shaw – who is up for re-election in November.

The 8 News Now Investigators broke the news of the first Lawsuit in February 2023 . That lawsuit, and a handful of others, seems to have either dismissed Shaw as a party or settled out of court, records show.

The current lawsuit, filed on May 30 in the Northern District of Illinois, names Shaw and his business partner Greg Jones, as well as several business entities including Green Arrow Solutions.

Court documents claim that on February 13, 2023, Green Arrow Solutions gave a loan to plaintiff Benjamin Steffen for $350 at an 852.42% annual percentage rate, which would result in a repayment of $1,132.28 if paid on schedule. The total interest amount would be $787.28, equating to a rate more than 20 times the 36% interest permitted in Illinois. These loans are known for cutthroat collection tactics and high fees for late payments.

The lawsuit, referring to the practice of evading prosecution under usury laws in the United States “frequently engage in a business model commonly referred to as a ‘rent-a-tribe scheme,’” the lawsuit says. “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.”

In this case, as in the others, the lawsuit alleges that “Defendant Green Arrow Solutions purports to be an entity created and owned by the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley Rancheria.”

As of November 2023 , Green Arrow Solutions was involved in a total of four federal class action lawsuits.

Last week, a woman in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against nine business entities including Green Arrow Solutions. Shaw is not named personally in that lawsuit, which claims that various lending companies downloaded and viewed her consumer credit report without her permission.

The Wisconsin lawsuit said those companies took advantage of the defendant, who “lacks advanced sophistication in the specific businesses of high-interest loan lead generation” and other such lending practices.

“As a result of the actions and omissions of each defendant, Cheryl Shockley has suffered damages including emotional distress, loss of privacy, mental anguish, fear, anger, frustration, embarrassment and other damages,” the lawsuit said.

A spokeswoman for the City of Henderson, when pressed for comment on this lawsuit, responded as she did in response to questions about the previous four lawsuits.

“The City of Henderson does not comment on Councilmember’s private or personal business matters,” the spokeswoman, Madeleine Skains, told the 8 News Now Investigators.

A separate response came from a public relations firm.

“I understand you are running another story on Councilman Shaw’s personal businesses,” the public relations representative, Elizabeth Tropser, said in an unsolicited email Monday night. “Again, this is the same situation you have reported on for the last year that we have previously responded to.  None of the information has changed. Dan is the president of an investment firm which provides payment servicing and does not make loans or set the terms – there is no direct connection between him and the borrower, which is why he is continually dropped from these types of lawsuits.”

It is unclear on whose behalf Trosper was responding, as the same request for comment was sent to Henderson’s mayor, a city spokeswoman, and each member of the city council, including Shaw.

Trosper forwarded an inquiry about the original predatory lawsuit from the 8 News Now Investigators in February, simply saying  “all questions should be directed to” a party in Utah, where he is the president and CEO of a popular rodeo , according to the Utah Days of 47 Rodeo website, and owns or owned multiple properties under a variety of entities, public records show.

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