A federal judge in New York sentenced Richard Moseley, Sr. to 10 years in prison in June after a 2017 conviction for wire fraud, racketeering and other charges.
Through his payday lending business, Hydra Lenders, Moseley preyed on consumers’ financial vulnerability. He scammed over 600,000 victims by charging illegally high interest rates.
Over the course of a decade, the scam created more than $200 million in revenue. Moseley also engaged in identity theft of his victims.
The FBI became aware of Hydra Lenders when another government agency brought a consumer lawsuit against the group. Through forensic accounting methods and comprehensive employee and victim interviews, the FBI learned that Hydra was breaking the law in how it issued and collected on its loans.
“A lot of these victims had to rebuild their financial lives,” FBI New York supervisory special agent Matthew Taylor said. “They had to shut down their bank accounts and open new ones.
“Some of the individuals victimized were financially struggling at the time — including grandmothers, grandfathers and former military members who served our country. In most cases, victims did not get the money back that was illegally taken from them.”
