elgin

Madigan reaches settlement with payday lender for illegal fees

Oct 6, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a settlement Thursday with a northwest suburban Elgin payday lending company that illegally sold loans with hidden interest rates and fees.

The settlement requires All Credit Lenders to pay $3.5 million and “immediately stop offering the revolving line of credit that carried hidden interest rates disguised as ‘required account protection fees’ ranging from 350 percent to more than 500 percent,” according to a statement from Madigan’s office.

All Credit Lenders must stop collecting on loans carrying these fees and waive outstanding balances for thousands of customers, prosecutors said. The company has already paid $200,000 in restitution to borrowers who were unemployed or receiving social security when they received their loan and borrowers who had previously filed complaints with Madigan’s office.

Madigan also reached settlements with five additional Illinois lending companies that offered similar loans, prosecutors said.

“These are egregious violations of the payday reform law we fought to put in place to protect consumers from outrageously expensive loans,” Madigan said in the statement. “All Credit Lenders and these other operators concoct illegal fees and costs, then fail to disclose them, and as a result, consumers end up owing enormous amounts outlawed by our reforms.”

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Man charged with breaking into car in Elgin

Apr 23, 2015 | WLSAM Staff

(ELGIN) A man was arrested after police caught him breaking into a car in northwest suburban Elgin early Wednesday.

Officers were in the 800 block of Augusta Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when they noticed a vehicle with its interior light on and the rear driver’s-side door open, according to a statement from Elgin police. They also noticed a man inside the vehicle.

Lucio E. Rincon, 19, told the officers he had just gotten off of work and was working on his amplifier, but further investigation revealed he was not the owner of the vehicle, police said. He had burglary tools with him and there was evidence of an attempt to remove the amplifier.

Rincon, of the 1300 block of Maroon Drive in Elgin, was arrested and charged with felony counts of burglary to a motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools, police said. He was ordered held on a $50,000 bond.

Elgin man charged with string of home burglaries

Feb 27, 2015 |

Juan C. Lopez. | Elgin police.

(ELGIN) An 18-year-old man was charged with burglarizing several northwest suburban homes Thursday.

Juan C. Lopez was charged in connection with a string of burglaries that occurred from Jan. 30 to Feb. 20, according to a statement from Elgin police. The burglaries primarily took place in the Century Oak East neighborhood in Elgin, police said.

Lopez took various items – from electronics to jewelry – from a number of homes in Elgin, police said. He was later apprehended by police following an investigation, police said.

Lopez, of the 1200 block of Countryside Drive in Elgin, was charged with four counts of residential burglary, police said. He is scheduled to appear in bond court at the Kane County Courthouse Friday.

Police: Elgin man threatened neighbor with gun

Feb 17, 2015 |

Paul Sandoval | photo from Elgin police

(ELGIN) A northwest suburban Elgin man is charged with threatening his neighbor with a gun over a noise complaint Monday afternoon.

Officers were called about 1:30 p.m. with reports of a person with a handgun in the 1000 block of Ash Drive, according to a statement from Elgin police.

Paul Sandoval, 21, confronted his neighbor about a noise complaint, brandished a handgun and made threats during an altercation, police said. The victim then left the scene and called police.

Sandoval went into his home and refused to exit when officers arrived, police said. Police surrounded the house, evacuated adjacent buildings and tried to get him to come outside.

Members of the Elgin Police Tactical Response Team arrived and began negotiating with Sandoval, police said. After several hours a female and a small child who live with him exited the home while Sandoval stayed inside.

A search warrant was obtained and members of the Tactical Response Team executed the warrant and arrested Sandoval without incident, police said. They found him inside the house with a semi-automatic handgun, ammunition and about nine ounces of marijuana.

Sandoval is charged with possession of a firearm by a street gang member, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said. He is expected to appear in bond court in Rolling Meadows on Tuesday.