A federal consumer watchdog agency has launched an investigation into a company that aggressively sued thousands of Latino borrowers in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic while depicting itself as a financial ally of the community.

Oportun Inc., a Silicon Valley-based installment lender, which was founded to help Latino immigrants build credit so they can go on to achieve the American Dream, disclosed to investors last week that it had received a civil investigative demand from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau



The company indicated that it was part of a larger probe of small-dollar lenders by the federal watchdog, which was formed by Congress in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis in an effort to better guard Americans from abusive lending practices.

The investigation comes after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune last year revealed that Oportun had become the most litigious personal loan company in Texas, suing thousands of lower-income borrowers at a rapid pace even as other lenders halted or slowed legal action during the pandemic.