River Valley Loans Active
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe · lending since 2021
River Valley Loans never publishes its APR — one borrower was told '~15%' and then handed paperwork showing 797.84%. It excludes its own home state, South Dakota.
River Valley Loans at a glance
Active- Owning tribe
- Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
- Lending since
- 2021
- Loan amounts
- $200–$3,000
- APR range
- 510–798%
- Product
- installment
- Website
- rivervalleyloans.com
What a River Valley Loans loan really costs
River Valley Loans lends $200–$3,000 over 10–18 months but never posts an APR on its site — it only says 'many factors determine the APR.' Borrower complaints fill in the number: effective rates of 510.21% and 797.84% appear in filings, including one borrower told the rate was around 15% who then received Truth-in-Lending paperwork showing 797.84% APR, a $3,634.11 finance charge and $4,434.11 total repayment on an $800 loan. Complaints also describe missing TILA disclosures, disputed digital signatures, and aggressive collection threats.
- Loans up to $3,000, including for first-time borrowers.
- No prepayment penalty.
- Same-day funding possible if approved by 2 p.m. Central.
- APR never posted on-site; complaints document 510% and 797.84%.
- BBB "F" with a majority of complaints going unanswered.
- Collection threats reported ("come to my house," "violence").
- Named in RICO litigation alleging off-reservation, non-tribal control.
Where River Valley Loans lends
River Valley excludes South Dakota — its own tribe's home state — along with the District of Columbia and the states above.
By its own terms, River Valley Loans does not lend to residents of:
Does River Valley Loans report to credit bureaus?
River Valley does not report to the three major bureaus, so a loan will not build credit. Its FAQ names the alternative bureaus it does use to underwrite: Clarity Services and FactorTrust.
The page that explains APR without ever stating one
River Valley's "Availability & Rates" page is worth reading as a document. It defines what an interest rate is. It defines what a finance charge is. It explains that APR expresses finance charges as a yearly rate.
It tells you the APR "will be determined by the amount you choose to borrow and the length of time you choose to keep your loan outstanding." And it never, at any point, states a number.
That is not an oversight. We found the identical page — same headings, same definitions, same absence — on five other tribal lending sites: RiseUp Lending, Three Sticks Lending, Willow Lake Lending, Minto Money and Birch Lending.
All six carry the same $20 late fee after 5 days, the same $30 returned-payment fee, and the same promise of no prepayment penalty.
Six brands, three tribes, one platform. River Valley and RiseUp are both Crow Creek Sioux and publish character-for-character identical excluded-state lists. Three Sticks and Willow Lake are both Rosebud Sioux and match each other exactly. Minto Money and Birch Lending are both Native Village of Minto.
So if you compared River Valley against RiseUp and found them alike, you did not find two lenders that happen to price the same way. You found one lending operation wearing two names — and a page built to teach you the vocabulary of a price it will not tell you.
Who actually owns and runs River Valley Loans
River Valley Loans is operated by Wahido Lending, a subsidiary of the Dakota Economic Development Corporation, an arm of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in Fort Thompson, South Dakota.
Litigation alleges the real operators are off-reservation and non-tribal — specifically CreditServe, Inc. and an individual, Eric Welch — with the tribe renting its sovereignty for a fee.
Lawsuits
In Rehfeldt v. Wahido Lending (S.D. Ind., 1:23-cv-01756, 2023), the plaintiff pleaded civil RICO plus Indiana usury over loans exceeding 400% APR — a more aggressive theory than a usury claim alone.
A further suit, Horatschki v. Wahido Lending (S.D. Ind., 2025), is pending, and Washington's DFI has flagged the Crow Creek Sioux operation as unlicensed in the state. The consumer firm Edelman Combs actively solicits Illinois and Indiana borrowers of River Valley Loans.
What River Valley Loans costs in dollars
River Valley Loans's published ceiling is 798% APR. Below is what that rate does to the amounts it actually lends, repaid over 12 monthly payments.
| You borrow | Monthly | Total repaid | Interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $133 | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| $1,600 | $1,066 | $12,796 | $11,196 |
| $3,000 | $1,999 | $23,993 | $20,993 |
At 798%, a $200 balance accrues about $133 in interest every month. Any payment below that figure leaves you owing more than you started with, however long you pay.
Standard amortisation at the published ceiling rate; fees are not included, and your actual rate and term may differ. Run your own numbers in the payoff calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the real APR on a River Valley loan?
River Valley never posts its APR. Complaints and filings document effective rates of 510% and 797.84% — in one case a borrower told "~15%" received paperwork showing 797.84%. The only reliable figure is the APR box in your own signed agreement.
Is River Valley Loans being sued?
Yes. Rehfeldt v. Wahido Lending (S.D. Ind., 2023) pleads civil RICO and Indiana usury; a further Indiana case was filed in 2025. Plaintiffs allege the operation is run off-reservation by non-tribal parties.
Is River Valley Loans a tribal loan?
Yes. River Valley Loans is a tribal lending brand owned by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in SD. That means it lends under tribal law and claims sovereign immunity from your state's interest-rate cap, rather than holding a state lending licence. It is also why its APR reaches 510–798% — far above the roughly 36% cap most states set for small loans. Whether the loan is enforceable where you live depends on your state.
What does a loan from River Valley Loans cost?
River Valley Loans lends $200–$3,000 at 510–798% APR. At those rates the total repaid is typically several times the amount borrowed, because interest is front-loaded — check the total of payments, not the monthly figure.
Is a loan from River Valley Loans legal in my state?
It depends entirely on your state. High-cost tribal loans are effectively banned in nine states, where a loan above the rate cap can be void and not legally collectible, and restricted in many more. River Valley Loans claims tribal sovereign immunity from those caps — an argument courts have accepted in some cases and rejected in others. Check your state before you borrow, and especially before you pay a collector.
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We are an independent registry — not a lender, not a broker and not a lead generator. This lender did not pay to appear here and cannot pay to change what the review says. We take no money from any lender and sell no applications.
Entries are built from the lender's own published disclosures, tribal corporate and lending-authority records, federal and state court filings, and CFPB, FTC and state regulator actions. Of the 143 brands in the full list of tribal lenders, 41 are confirmed lending, 74 sit on a watchlist pending verification, and 28 have shut down. Where a figure cannot be sourced we leave it blank rather than estimate it — which is why some entries are deliberately incomplete.
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