Nelson pleads guilty to payday Ponzi scheme

Doris “Dee” Nelson pleaded guilty in Spokane to a massive payday lending Ponzi scheme that involved 465 investors and $137 million. Her voice soft and sometimes cracking, Nelson rejected a plea agreement from federal prosecutors and instead handled the outcome of the case her own way, admitting guilt to each of the 110 counts of lying to investors about the profit potential of her Little Loan Shoppe business. She faces the possibility of decades in a federal prison, millions in fines, and perhaps deportation to her native Canada. Sentencing will be in July.