Retired Oklahoma Paramedic Scammed By Predatory Lender

A retired Lincoln County Paramedic looking for extra cash says he got scammed by a predatory lender.

Brian Martin says he received an unsolicited call from a South Carolina phone number last Friday. Martin says that call came two days after he scanned the internet for a $300 to $400 loan.

Martin says bad health has kept him from being able to work much recently, and needed the money to help pay bills.

Martin says the lender ended up bilking him out of $567 in fees. He says when he demanded his money back, they refused.

“I feel like these guys just have a grand old time doing this stuff to people,” he said on Tuesday.

Central Oklahoma's Better Business Bureau tells News 9 this kind of predatory lending and fraud is commonplace. They urge people who need emergency cash to ignore unsolicited phone calls, and borrow money only from financial institutions that are trusted.

Brian Martin says because of what's happened, his 2007 Dodge pickup truck will be repossessed this Friday.