Montgomery County’s New Consumer Protection Partnership Hold Companies Accountable

County Collaboration Announces Groundbreaking Lawsuits Targeting Digital Payday Lenders

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners announce a new collaboration of a joint consumer protection effort designed to identify, investigate, and pursue matters affecting the health, finances, and well-being of Montgomery County residents.

As part of that effort, today both parties announce the filing of two lawsuits by the Montgomery County District Attorney against MoneyLion and Dave, alleging that the companies use a variety of fees, tips, and other charges in connection with short-term cash advances that effectively function as high-interest loans in violation of Pennsylvania law.  These lawsuits are the first public consumer protection actions against digital payday lenders in Pennsylvania.

The new collaboration between the District Attorney’s Office and the Solicitor’s Office expands Montgomery County’s ability to address unlawful and deceptive business practices that impact residents. Through this coordinated approach, the County has pursued actions involving consumer financial protection, pricing transparency, healthcare affordability and other matters affecting the public interest.

Traditional payday lending has long been outlawed in Pennsylvania because of its high fees and short repayment periods that trap consumers living paycheck to paycheck in cycles of debt. The lawsuits allege that MoneyLion and Dave provided short-term digital cash advances that were repaid from consumers’ next paychecks and charged a variety of fees including “tips” that functioned as interest. The civil complaints detail that these charges routinely resulted in costs that vastly exceeded Pennsylvania’s legal lending limits, often by hundreds of percentage points. The District Attorney’s Office is represented by the law firm of Berger Montague.

Additional collaborative consumer protection efforts include litigation against Vivid Seats regarding hidden fees and deceptive pricing for live entertainment events, unfair and deceptive pricing schemes regarding life-saving insulin medications, and youth mental health and social media litigation.

“Protecting Montgomery County consumers is one of the core responsibilities of my Office,” said District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. “When companies engage in unlawful or deceptive conduct that harms our residents, we will use every available tool to hold them accountable. These actions reflect our commitment to ensuring that businesses operating in Montgomery County follow the law and treat consumers fairly.”

“Montgomery County residents deserve honesty and fairness in the marketplace,” said Jamila H. Winder, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “These lawsuits demonstrate how County government can work together to protect consumers and improve the quality of life for the people we serve.”

“At the 2025 State of the County, I outlined a vision for proactively protecting consumers in Montgomery County in partnership with the District Attorney’s Office. Today, that vision has become a reality,” said Neil K. Makhija, Montgomery County Commissioner. “To any bad actors and businesses, be warned: Montgomery County will do everything in our power to hold accountable the companies that profit from harming our families.”

“Residents should be able to trust that businesses are operating honestly and within the bounds of the law,” said Commissioner Thomas DiBello. “The County is committed to working with our partners to protect consumers and pursue accountability when that trust is violated.”

“We are proud to partner with Montgomery County to protect consumers in Montgomery County and across the Commonwealth from these digital-age payday lending apps,” said James Hannaway of Berger Montague. “Dave and MoneyLion prey on the most financially vulnerable among us, and these cases are a much-needed step to hold them accountable.”

Montgomery County is dedicated to protecting residents from unlawful, deceptive, and unfair business practices. This collaboration allows Montgomery County to respond more effectively to emerging threats to consumers’ financial health, physical well-being, and quality of life.

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, DC, and Wilmington, DE.

Media Contacts:

Megan Alt, Commissioners’ Office
Megan.Alt@montgomerycountypa.gov

Shannon Kaercher, District Attorney’s Office
Shannon.Kaercher@montgomerycountypa.gov

Amy Wall-Monte
215.875.3021
awallmonte@bergermontague.com
awallmonte@bergermontague.com

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James Hannaway

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