[HJJ]

Originally Posted by speeddemon787

33 cars will be at the ALMS Long Beach race minus the two Level 5 LMP2 cars.

The team is still planning on being at Long Beach according to this.

In a developing story that SPEED.com has been monitoring this week, the future of Level 5 Motorsports could be in jeopardy following a recent motion set forth by the Federal Trade Commission on its team owner, Scott Tucker.

The FTC lodged a suit against the two-time American Le Mans Series champion and other associated parties, including the Level 5 Motorsports team, Monday in U.S. District Court in Nevada.

The case alleges Tucker and his brother controlled a handful of internet-based payday lending companies that “piled on undisclosed and inflated fees, and collected on loans illegally by threatening borrowers with arrest and lawsuits.”

According to court documents, “The FTC has asked a federal court to stop the allegedly illegal business tactics while the agency pursues its case against the defendants.”

Level 5 Motorsports, LLC, along with a handful of other companies reportedly controlled by Tucker, are named as defendants of the case. According to documents filed with the court, Tucker and his brother, Blaine, are said to have transferred more than $40 million from the payday lending companies to Level 5 for “sponsorship” fees.

Over the last five years, the FTC said that it’s received more than 7,500 complaints about the operation, which is affiliated with a Native American tribe, which the defense has claimed makes Tucker’s loan business immune from state-led investigations.

Tucker’s operation is not the only payday loan company to have come under fire as of late, as the FTC is also investigating Payday Financial, LLC, another tribe-owned company based in South Dakota.

A statement from Jeff D. Morris, Council for Level 5 Motorsports and Scott Tucker reads: “We are disappointed that the FTC has taken the action of filing a lawsuit, but we will defend the allegations through the legal process and begin the kind of dialogue appropriate for such a regulatory filing.

“The government’s interest in the online short term lending industry extends beyond those named in the lawsuit. Some of the parties named represent significant participants in the industry, so it is no surprise there is interest from regulators.

“An FTC filing is not a finding or ruling that anyone has actually violated a statute or regulation. It is simply a lawsuit based on untested allegations. The FTC has sued the likes of Microsoft, Google, Apple, Citigroup, Coca Cola and Facebook and the reality is most actions resolve in settlements based on an agreed understanding of the facts. We will proceed accordingly and in good faith to address the recent filing.”

It’s unclear what effect, if any, the legal proceedings could have on the long-term future of Level 5’s P2 program in the ALMS and its planned effort at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

However, team manager David Stone told SPEED.com that there are no changes in the team’s plans as they prepare for next weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach, where both of the HPD ARX-03bs are expected to race.

Level 5 is fresh off a class victory at last month’s Twelve Hours of Sebring, where Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa finished fourth overall, the highest among the ALMS entrants in the combined FIA World Endurance Championship race.

Tucker and Bouchut currently hold a four-point lead in the P2 drivers’ championship heading into the second round of the season.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...ucker-level-5/