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.
To Protect Service Members, Defense Department Plans Broad Ban on High-Cost Loans
Acknowledging that a previous law did not go far enough, Defense Department said it needs to expand rules to protect service members from high-cost lenders.
High-Cost Lender World Finance Target of Federal Probe
The investigation follows a ProPublica story that detailed the company’s lending practices.
When Lenders Sue, Quick Cash Can Turn Into a Lifetime of Debt
High-cost lenders exploit laws tipped in their favor to sue tens of thousands of Americans every year. The result: A $1,000 loan grows to $40,000.
To Dodge Law, High-Cost Lender Offers Cash for Free
TitleMax, one of the fastest growing high-cost lenders in the country, has found a clever way around laws passed by several Texas cities: offer an initial loan at zero percent interest.
How One State Succeeded in Restricting Payday Loans
Washington State passed a payday loan reform bill that merely limits the number of loans a person can take in a year. Here’s what happened.
Whack-a-Mole: How Payday Lenders Bounce Back When States Crack Down
In state after state that has tried to ban payday and similar loans, the industry has found ways to continue to peddle them.
The Payday Playbook: How High Cost Lenders Fight to Stay Legal
Last year, activists in Missouri tried to limit what high-cost lenders can charge. The ensuing fight exposed something that rarely comes into view so vividly: the high-cost lending industry’s ferocious efforts to stay legal and stay in business.
Senator Presses Consumer Bureau on Installment Lender World Finance
Citing our investigation, Sen. Ron Wyden asked a top official from the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau about what can be done to address abuses by installment lenders.
Bank of America Lied to Homeowners and Rewarded Foreclosures, Former Employees Say
Former Bank of America employees gave sworn statements that the bank lied to homeowners, denied loan modifications for bogus reasons and rewarded employees for sending homeowners to foreclosure.
On Victory Drive, Soldiers Defeated by Debt
A federal law is supposed to protect service members from predatory lending. But lenders exploit loopholes, trapping military personnel in high-interest debt.