Politician Hired as Payday Loan Lending Lobbyist
A national, faxless payday advance lending group announced Monday it is hiring a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate to be its executive vice president.
Community Financial Services Association of America is bringing in Tommy Moore (pictured), who resigned from his Aiken County senate seat this weekend, to lobby and do public relations for the payday lending industry. The businesses provide loans of hundreds of dollars for several weeks at high interest rates.
The industry has been sharply criticized recently by people who said it takes advantage of poorer consumers and the high interest rates send them into a spiraling crush of debt. But no fax payday loan lenders have said the businesses provide a vital service and consumers pay more in fees in the long run when they bounce checks while trying to pay the bills.
“At this point in my career, I saw an exciting opportunity to take on a new challenge that builds on my long history of supporting and protecting consumers,” Moore said in a news release issued by the group.
Initially on Monday, Moore would not talk about his new job. He did not immediately respond to a message left on his cell phone after the announcement was made.
Association spokesman Steven Schlein would not disclose how much Moore would be paid. The fast cash advance group paid its executive director $132,749 plus an undisclosed sum included in a $1.2 million “management fee” in 2005, the most recent year available from Guidestar, nonprofit research group.
Moore was the Democrats’ candidate for governor, receiving less than 45 percent of the vote in 2006. He had been in the state Senate since 1981.
During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Moore received at least $7,000 in donations from the payday and car title loan industry.
“We’re deeply disappointed he would take a job like this. These are bad guys, and they do shameful things,” said John Ruoff, research director for the advocacy group S.C. Fair Share.
A bad credit cash loan lending bill will be waiting when the Senate returns in January. Moore didn’t appear to push from either side last session, but that will likely change with his new job, Ruoff said.