The state Department of Financial Institutions just sent out a press release announcing more than $1.2 million in fines against two payday lenders operating in the state, Advance Til Payday and Zippy Cash. The companies exceeded the state’s $700 maximum limit in more than 400 loans. Both will have their licenses revoked and be banned from operating here.

Although Advance and Zippy present themselves as separate entities, they’re owned by the same company, WCS Loans, Inc. Investigators found that customers often went to both stores to cash in on multiple loans, thus initiating a cycle of debt that the state limits were designed to prevent.

From the release:

Example: A borrower visits the Puyallup branch of Advance Til Payday to borrow $700. That same day, the borrower takes out a $700 loan at an Advance Til Payday branch in Tacoma. In addition, the borrower drives south to receive another $700 loan from the Advance Til Payday Olympia branch. The total payday loan amount for this customer in one day is $2,100.

The investigation also found that WCS owner Loren Gil failed to notify Washington State—when he applied for a license—that he was banned from doing business in Virginia and had an assault conviction in Pierce County from 2005.

If I score an interview with Gil, this time I might bring backup.