Paul Kiel
Paul Kiel covers business and consumer finance for ProPublica.
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Paul Kiel covers business and consumer finance for ProPublica.
In recent years, he’s focused on the U.S. tax system. The Secret IRS Files, which involved a team of ProPublica reporters, revealed key ways the ultrawealthy avoid taxes. Before that, he worked on The TurboTax Trap and Gutting the IRS investigations.
Past areas of focus included the foreclosure crisis, high-cost lending, the use of lawsuits to collect consumer debts, and the consumer bankruptcy system.
He has won numerous awards, including the Selden Ring Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, a Barlett & Steele Award, a Scripps Howard Award twice, a Hillman Prize, and a Philip Meyer Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors.
His work has appeared in several newspapers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has also produced stories for National Public Radio and American Public Media’s Marketplace, as well as appeared on This American Life.
How We Analyzed Racial Disparity in Debt Collection Lawsuits
An explanation of how we analyzed whether debt collection lawsuits disproportionately impact black communities.
The Color of Debt: How Collection Suits Squeeze Black Neighborhoods
In a first-of-its-kind analysis, ProPublica reveals that the suits are far more common in black communities than white ones.
Company That Sued Soldiers Closes Its Stores
After a ProPublica investigation of USA Discounters’ lending practices last summer, a barrage of lawsuits, regulatory inquiries and changes to Defense Department policies followed.
Let The Game of Whack-A-Mole Begin: Feds Put Forward New Payday Rules
New rules put forward by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would have a major impact on the high-cost loan industry. But if history is any guide, lenders will quickly find some loopholes.
Senator to Hospitals: Stop Suing Poor Patients
Prompted by an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, Sen. Charles Grassley asks a Missouri nonprofit hospital to explain why it seizes the wages of thousands of its patients.
For Nonprofit Hospitals Who Sue Patients, New Rules
Nonprofit hospitals get big tax breaks for providing care for patients who can't afford it. Under new IRS rules these hospitals must take extra steps to inform poor patients they may qualify for financial assistance.
Feds Bar Companies’ Long-Distance Lawsuits Against Soldiers
In the latest move against companies targeting military customers, federal regulators prohibit two Virginia-based lenders from suing out-of-state debtors in Virginia courts. The companies were featured in a ProPublica story in July.
In Alabama, A Public Hospital Serves the Poor — with Lawsuits
Public hospitals can be among the most aggressive in collecting debts from poor patients, not only garnishing their wages, but cleaning out their bank accounts. “It makes me sick,” said one legal aid attorney.
From the E.R. to the Courtroom: How Nonprofit Hospitals Are Seizing Patients' Wages
One Missouri hospital has sued thousands of uninsured patients who couldn't pay for their care, then grabbed a hefty portion of their paychecks to cover the bills. "We will be paying them off until we die," one debtor said.
Company That Sues Soldiers Pledges Reform, Changes Name
USA Discounters, promising to change how it pursues military debtors, will now be known as USA Living.