The billionaire who secured Donald Trump's $175 million bond has handed the him cash before — after he was sued by the former president's Justice department for unlawful lending, according to a new report.
The Daily Beast Wednesday uncovered a new link between Trump and Don Hankey, best known for running an empire of subprime car loans, that began with a settlement agreement after his company Westlake Services was accused of violating military employees' rights by repossessing their cars.
Westlake settled the case with $700,000 in damages to the troops and about $61,000 in fines, the Daily Beast notes, but that didn't end its involvement with the Justice department.
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"While the government was monitoring Westlake’s compliance, the DOJ discovered new [Servicemembers Civil Relief Act] violations, forcing the firm to pay another $225,000 to settle those allegations in 2022," the Daily Beast reported.
This was not the first time Hankey's company landed in hot water, the report noted.
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"Hankey, whose estimated $7.4 billion net worth outstrips Trump’s, made his fortune in the repo world, targeting low-income customers with high-interest auto loans," the report states.
"In fact, two years before the DOJ sued Westlake and its wholly-owned subsidiary Wilshire under the SCRA, those same two entities were nailed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for 'illegal debt collection tactics,' resulting in more than $44 million in restitution payouts and a civil fine of $4.25 million."
The billionaire found his name in the news again after he issued Trump's bond in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump was initially asked to hand over about $464 million in civil fraud damages but successfully bargained down the bond as he pursues an appeal.
Later this month, Trump is slated to appear again in a New York courtroom on criminal charges of falsifying business records to disguise hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The former president pleaded not guilty.
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