Lendgreen Closed
Lac du Flambeau Band (Niiwin LLC) · 2016–2023
Lendgreen's borrower took his case to the Supreme Court and won: Lac du Flambeau Band v. Coughlin (2023) established that bankruptcy stops tribal lenders cold — sovereign immunity does not survive a bankruptcy filing.
Do I still owe Lendgreen?
- Collection status
- Stopped December 17, 2024
- Debt relief
- All LDF loans Jul 2016 – Oct 2023 cancelled (~$1.4B portfolio-wide)
- Cash fund
- $37.35M
- Claim site
- consumerloansettlement.com
- Closed
- 2023
Wound down; central to SCOTUS LDF v. Coughlin (2023) — bankruptcy stay binds tribes.
Lendgreen at a glance
- Owning tribe
- Lac du Flambeau Band (Niiwin LLC)
- Lending since
- 2016
- Loan amounts
- $100–$1,500
- APR range
- Never disclosed
- Product
- installment
- Website
- lendgreen.com
What a Lendgreen loan cost
Lendgreen lent up to $1,500 before winding down around 2023. No verifiable APR survives for Lendgreen itself; Minnesota’s Attorney General alleged 200% to 800% across the twelve LDF Holdings lenders it named, Lendgreen among them.
Its lasting significance is not its pricing but its litigation: a Lendgreen borrower's bankruptcy case reached the U.S. Supreme Court and reshaped the law for every tribal borrower in the country.
The Supreme Court case that came from a Lendgreen loan
In Lac du Flambeau Band v. Coughlin (2023), a borrower who had taken a Lendgreen loan filed for bankruptcy — and the lender kept trying to collect, arguing tribal sovereign immunity meant the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay did not apply to it. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the Code abrogates tribal sovereign immunity.
What happened to Lendgreen borrowers
Lendgreen (operated by Niiwin, LLC under the Lac du Flambeau Band) is covered by the Fitzgerald v. Wildcat settlement: LDF-brand loans made between July 24, 2016 and October 1, 2023 were cancelled if unpaid — part of roughly $1.4 billion in cancellations plus a $37.35 million cash fund, effective January 16, 2025.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Lendgreen Supreme Court case about?
In Lac du Flambeau Band v. Coughlin (2023), a Lendgreen borrower filed for bankruptcy and the lender kept collecting, claiming sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court held the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay does bind tribes — so bankruptcy stops tribal collection.
Can bankruptcy really stop a tribal lender?
Yes. That is exactly what Lac du Flambeau Band v. Coughlin (2023) established: the bankruptcy automatic stay abrogates tribal sovereign immunity, so a tribal lender must stop collecting once you file.
This brand is one of many that stopped lending — and in several cases the balances were legally wiped out in a settlement. See the full picture: which tribal lenders shut down, and were the debts cancelled?