Company Response
12/12/2023
12/12/2023
VIA ONLINE COMPLAINT PORTAL
Business Consumer Alliance
To Whom It May Concern:
This responds to the above-referenced complaint. This inquiry related to a loan from
Niswi, LLC dba Lendumo (the "Company"), which is owned by the Lac du Flambeau Band of
Lake Superior Chippewa Indians ("Tribe"). The Company takes these types of inquiries very
seriously and would like to provide you with the below information. Nothing in this
communication should be construed as a waiver of the Tribe's or the Company's sovereign
immunity, all of which are expressly preserved.
The Company is a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary of LDF Holdings, LLC ("LDF
Holdings"). LDF Holdings is a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary of the L.D.F. Business
Development Corporation, which is a wholly-owned and operated economic arm and
instrumentality of the Tribe. The Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe, organized under a
Constitution pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C. §§ 476, et
seq., as amended, and is identified on the United States Department of Interior's list of federally
acknowledged Indian Tribes. 83 FR 34863-01 (July 23, 2018). The Company is an arm of the
Tribe. As an arm of the Tribe, the Company possesses all of the privileges and immunities of the
Tribe. The Tribe and the Company are entitled to tribal sovereign immunity and they are not
subject to state law. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 677 F. Supp.
2d 1056, 1061 (W.D. Wis. 2010) (holding that entities acting as arms of a tribe are entitled to tribal
sovereign immunity).
The Company issues loans in accordance with the Tribe's Tribal Consumer Financial
Services Regulatory Code and it is licensed under Tribal law. The customer's loan agreement
provided that it would be governed by the laws of the Tribe, without regard to the laws of any
state. The interest and fees applicable to the loan are permitted by Tribal law. They were
accurately and clearly reflected in the loan agreement that the customer signed before receiving
the loan. The customer also received a TILA disclosure that outlined the amount and date of each
payment required under the loan agreement. Due to its immunity, the loan is not subject to state
law and the Company is not required to be licensed with any state. The customer's loan is legal.
As a courtesy to Kim Greenleaf, we will consider all payments made to date and close the
account without any further obligation.
If Ms. Greenleaf has any questions, she may contact Customer Service at 1-877-558-1999.
If you would like to discuss these issues further on a government-to-government basis,
please direct any communications through the Company's legal counsel: Patrick McAndrews at
Spencer Fane, LLP, 1000 Walnut, Suite 1400, Kansas City, MO 64106, 816-292-8376,
pmcandrews@spencerfane.com. But, again, please be advised that nothing in this communication
should be construed as a waiver of the Tribe's or the Company's sovereign immunity, all of which
are expressly preserved.
The Company trusts that the complainant will find this letter of explanation satisfactory.
However, if the complainant is not satisfied with the Company's resolution of this matter, pursuant
to Section 10 of the Tribal Consumer Financial Services Regulatory Ordinance, which can be
found at https://www.ldftribe.com/uploads/files/Court-Ordinances/CHAP94-Tribal-ConsumerFinancial-Services-Reulatory-Ordinance.pdf, he/she may pursue formal dispute resolution with
the Tribal Consumer Financial Services Regulatory Authority ("Authority"). To do so, he/she
must send a written request to the Authority at P.O. Box 25, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin 54538.
The request must contain the information required by Section 10 of the Tribal Consumer Financial
Services Regulatory Ordinance.
Kindest Regards,
________________________
Racquel Bell
Compliance Manager
Niswi, LLC dba Lendumo
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