Vote YES for Issue 5 Press Conference with Mike Crites

Crites, a former state and federal prosecutor, disputed a recent mailing paid for by the lenders that said Ohio's new law will expose borrowers' financial data to Internet hackers.

"This is another smokescreen that's being used to mislead voters,'' Crites told a Columbus news conference.

The lenders are referring to a provision in the new law that requires the state to keep a database of those who take out payday loans. Its purpose is to ensure that lenders comply with a provision in the law that limits to four the number of loans a borrower can take out each year.

The contents of the database are not a public record, Crites said, and he noted that a database run by the lenders has resulted in serious privacy breeches around the nation.

In Virginia, Check 'n Go was fined $100,000 to settle a case after charges that it illegally used customer information to access borrowers' bank accounts, and the Texas Attorney General settled with the same lending chain after a year-long investigation into the company's handling of personal records.

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