WASHINGTON -- A data broker operation sold payday loan applicants ' financial information to scammers , who took in millions of dollars by debiting bank accounts and charging credit cards without authorization , the Federal Trade Commission charged Wednesday . The data brokers bought " hundreds of thousands of consumer payday loan applications " and , instead of passing them to legitimate payday lenders , sold them to non - lending third parties , the FTC charged in a complaint . Among the companies , was Ideal Financial Solutions Inc. , which bought 500,000 applications and raided the accounts for at least $ 7.1 million , the FTC said . " These non - lender third parties included phony Internet merchants , such as Ideal Financial , that used consumers ' sensitive information to commit fraud by debiting consumers ' bank accounts for purported financial products that the consumers never purchased , " the complaint said . The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction against the defendants -- Sequoia One of Wyoming , Gen X Marketing of Florida and individuals associated with the companies , Jason A. Kotzker , Theresa D. Bartholomew , John E. Bartholomew Jr. , and Paul T. McDonnell -- and the return of ill - gotten gains . In a statement , Jessica Rich , director of the FTC 's Bureau of Consumer Protection , said that data brokers that act unethically are as culpable as the scammers themselves . ;