Business

Montel Williams Out as Payday Loan Pitchman in New York

Published

11 years ago

March 11, 2015

In this May 21, 2013 file photo, Montel Williams attends the “Now You See Me” premiere at AMC Lincoln Square, in New York. An online company is losing Williams as its celebrity pitchman in New York while agreeing to stop generating leads in the state for payday loans with interest rates sometimes topping 1,000 percent, regulators said Tuesday, March 10, 2015. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An online company is losing Montel Williams as its celebrity pitchman in New York while agreeing to stop generating leads in the state for payday loans with interest rates sometimes topping 1,000 percent, regulators said Tuesday.

An investigation found Las Vegas-based Selling Source LLC, doing business as MoneyMutual, marketed illegal loans online to New York residents, and the company will pay $2.1 million in penalties, the Department of Financial Services said.

Williams, a former Marine who hosted “The Montel Williams Show” for more than a decade, signed a consent order saying he’ll stop endorsing MoneyMutual loans in New York, it said.

“Using Mr. Williams’s reputation as a trusted celebrity endorser, MoneyMutual marketed loans to struggling consumers with sky-high interest rates — sometimes in excess of 1,300 percent — that trapped New Yorkers in destructive cycles of debt,” department Superintendent Ben Lawsky said in a statement. “The company made special efforts to target the more than 55 percent of their customers who were ‘repeat clients’ — including so-called ‘Gold’ customers who took out a new loan to pay off a previous loan.”

A payday loan is a short-term advance against a borrower’s paycheck and usually carries a high interest rate. New York’s interest rate limit is 16 percent.

The consent order, also signed Monday by Selling Source CEO Glenn McKay, said the company acknowledged on its website that the typical annual percentage rate on a 14-day loan is “somewhere between 261 percent and 1,304 percent.”

The order noted Selling Source had since September 2009 sold to its network of at least 60 payday lenders more than 800,000 New York consumer leads. It said each lender paid Selling Source a fee for every lead it bought and Selling Source in turn paid Williams a fee for every lead it sold through the MoneyMutual brand.

There were “numerous complaints from aggrieved New York consumers struggling under the rates, fees, and repayment schedules demanded by MoneyMutual’s network of lenders,” it said.

The investigation found no violation of law by Williams, who had no role in the business operations of Selling Source, his spokesman Jonathan Franks said. They “stand by his overall endorsement of MoneyMutual,” with the exception of New York, and note he has received fewer than 10 complaints directly from consumers, Franks said.

He said many consumers have no access to traditional credit products, something industry detractors don’t understand.

“As he has said publicly many times, Mr. Williams himself utilized short-term lending while attending the Naval Academy on more than one occasion and paid those loans back on time,” Franks said.

The settlement, which precludes what could have been costly litigation, includes no admission of wrongdoing by Selling Source, the company said.

“Hundreds of thousands of consumers have been paired with a responsible lender, have secured the short-term financing they needed and repaid the money loaned to them,” it said.

The consent order requires the company, which said it cooperated with regulators, to pay three installments of $700,000 over three years and disable its website from accepting applications from people who enter New York ZIP codes. The company agreed to state in ads that services aren’t available in New York.

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Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College 

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.

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March 17, 2026

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Sponsored by JPMorganChase

As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.

If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.

Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.

Understand what causes financial stress

2. Determine your financial priorities

Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.

3. Create a plan and stick to it

While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.

4. Pay down debt

Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.

5. Build your financial resilience

Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.

6. Seek help and support

Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.

The bottom line

Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.

 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC