Duo Convicted of Massive Payday Lending Scheme Denied New Trials

Former payday loan maven Scott Tucker and his lawyer, Timothy Muir, both convicted in 2017 of offenses related to a massive payday lending scheme, lost their respective bids for a new trial Thursday.

Neither Tucker nor Muir were able to persuade US District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge P. Kevin Castel that they were deprived a fair trial.

Tucker, who orchestrated the $3.5 billion scheme, claimed he was denied his choice of counsel, received ineffective assistance of counsel, and was convicted pursuant to erroneous jury instructions. Muir, who served as general counsel for Tucker’s payday lending ...