Lendgreen Debt Cancellation: What You Qualify For

That message sits on Lendgreen's own website. This page is not written for people shopping for a new loan. It is for the people still carrying an old one — and who may not realize the balance could already be gone.

Who Lendgreen Is

Lendgreen was a brand of Niiwin, LLC, owned by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin. On paper it looked like a standard tribal installment lender. Court records tell a different story about who actually ran the operation.

Documents produced in litigation showed that Vivus Servicing handled nearly all of the day-to-day work — marketing, underwriting, collections — and retained most of the profits. Vivus had subcontracted administrative functions to 4finance Canada, an affiliate of a European lending conglomerate based in Latvia. When the people bearing the economic risk and collecting the bulk of the money sit outside the tribe entirely, the “arm-of-the-tribe” defense starts to look thin. That structure is one reason Lendgreen's sovereign-immunity claims took heavier damage in court than some of the other lenders covered in this series.

The $1.4 Billion Class Action Settlement

This is the part that matters most if you still have a Lendgreen balance.

In the In re LDF Lending Companies Settlement, the court approved a nationwide deal covering loans originated between July 24, 2016 and October 1, 2023. The terms were unusually clean:

• Any covered loan with an outstanding balance was cancelled in full.
• Roughly $1.4 billion in debt across all class members was written off.
• Borrowers would not receive a 1099 for the cancelled debt.
• The tribal entities agreed not to sell, transfer, or assign any covered loans to third-party debt buyers.
• The companies were also required to request deletion of the related tradelines from the major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax).

If you are unsure whether your loan falls inside the class period, treat it as a priority. Local legal-aid offices and the settlement administrator are the practical places to start.

The Supreme Court Ruling

In 2019 a Massachusetts man named Brian Coughlin took out an $1,100 Lendgreen loan at 741% APR. He later filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Even after the automatic stay went into effect, Lendgreen kept calling and emailing — fifty contacts over four months, according to the court record.

The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin (599 U.S. 382, 2023), the Court ruled 8-1 that the Bankruptcy Code clearly abrogates tribal sovereign immunity. Tribal lenders cannot ignore the automatic stay simply because they are tribal entities.

If you are in an active bankruptcy and a tribal lender is still contacting you, that contact is a federal violation. The ruling applies to every tribal lender in the country, not just Lendgreen.

If Your Loan Isn't Covered by the Settlement

Loans made after October 1, 2023 fall outside the class action. For those accounts the pattern that shows up in borrower reports is more conventional.

Lendgreen and related Lac du Flambeau brands typically begin sending settlement offers once an account is about 30 days past due. The offers appear in the online portal and by email. Balances often drop in increments of $100–$200 every couple of weeks. Both lump-sum and installment options are common.

One Reddit user described the numbers clearly: “I had a $1,000 loan that I was set to pay $6,000 on by the end of the loan. I stopped payments after I had only made one ($300), and I was able to get a new payment plan as a settlement so in total I'll have only paid $1,716… my payments went from $300 to $72 and additional interest was no longer accruing.”

For sample language and timing guidance, see the debt-settlement guide and the settlement-offer letter template.

State Enforcement Actions

Maine's Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection ordered Lendgreen in 2022 to waive all interest and fees on existing Maine loans, stop collection activity, and cease lending in the state until it obtained a proper license.

In 2024 Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison reached a consent decree with Lac du Flambeau lending entities that required them to stop originating loans in Minnesota and forgive outstanding balances estimated at more than $1 million.

Lendgreen ultimately stopped originating new loans in more than twenty states, including Maine, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Virginia.

If Collectors Are Still Contacting You

Because the class settlement explicitly barred the tribal entities from selling or transferring covered loans, any collection activity on a 2016–2023 Lendgreen account deserves immediate skepticism.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my loan covered by the class settlement?

Loans originated between July 24, 2016 and October 1, 2023 are covered. Contact the settlement administrator or a legal-aid office if you need help confirming the dates on your specific account.

Will I get a tax form for the cancelled debt?

The settlement notice states that class members will not receive a 1099 for debt cancelled under this agreement. Individual tax situations can still vary, so a quick check with a tax professional is reasonable. Our 1099-C guide explains when forgiven debt is taxable.

Lendgreen stopped lending but I'm still being contacted. What should I do?

Send a debt-validation letter first. If the loan falls inside the class period, state in writing that the debt was cancelled under the LDF settlement and demand that collection stop.

Does the Lac du Flambeau Band have other lenders?

Yes. Related brands have included Lendumo, Makwa Financial, Zfunds, Brightstar Cash, and others. The $1.4 billion settlement covered the LDF lending companies as a group.

How does the Supreme Court ruling affect me?

If you are in bankruptcy, tribal lenders cannot ignore the automatic stay. Continued contact after notice of the bankruptcy is a federal violation.

Where can I file a complaint?

CFPB complaint portal, FTC, and your state attorney general's consumer protection division. These filings create a useful paper trail even when they do not immediately erase a balance.

The Bottom Line

Start with the dates. If your Lendgreen loan was made between July 24, 2016 and October 1, 2023, the outstanding balance was cancelled under the nationwide settlement and the company was required to request removal of the tradeline from your credit reports. You should not be paying it, and any collector who claims otherwise needs to prove the debt survived the settlement.

If your loan is newer, the ordinary path is to revoke ACH authorization, wait for the portal offers that typically appear after 30 days, and negotiate from there. Residents of the restricted states have additional leverage from the Maine and Minnesota enforcement actions.