Paul Kiel

Reporter

Photo of Paul Kiel

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.

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.

Map: Lenders Line up on Victory Drive

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.

The 182 Percent Loan: How Installment Lenders Put Borrowers in a World of Hurt

Many people know the dangers of payday loans. But "installment loans" also have sky-high rates and work by getting borrowers — usually poor — to renew over and over. We take you inside one of the biggest installment lenders, billion-dollar World Finance.

For Most Homeowners, Gov't Foreclosure Deal Brings A Few Hundred Bucks

Bank regulators finally announced the details of a settlement with the biggest banks over foreclosure abuses. Most borrowers will receive $500 or less. And the details are confusing.

Feds Replace Flawed Foreclosure Review With Vague $8.5 Billion Settlement

Banking regulators admitted the Independent Foreclosure Review was a big expensive mess and shut it down. But many details about the $8.5 billion settlement that replaces it remain murky.

As Foreclosure Crisis Drags On, So Does Flawed Government Response

A look at the government's response as the foreclosure crisis enters its seventh year.

Cheat Sheet: BofA Supplied Default Answers for 'Independent' Foreclosure Claims Reviewers

The Independent Foreclosure Review, the government's main effort to compensate homeowners for harm by banks, is supposed to be independent from the banks. But in Bank of America's case, it wasn't.

Exec Who Allegedly Enabled Fraud Runs Chase’s Effort to Compensate Foreclosure Victims

A former Countrywide and Bank of America executive named by Justice Department lawyers as facilitating a scheme to defraud Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now heads JPMorgan Chase's involvement in the Independent Foreclosure Review.

Read the Documents Treasury Has Been Keeping Secret

Secret Documents Show Weak Oversight of Key Foreclosure Program

The Obama administration trumpeted its flagship program to prevent foreclosures, known as HAMP. But it provided shockingly ineffective oversight.

Where Are the Foreclosure Deal Millions Going in Your State?

Doubts About Independent Foreclosure Review Spread

Evidence emerges that the largest banks might be influencing the determination of who was victimized by their own practices.

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