WASHINGTON The US consumer finance watchdog ordered an Alabama-based payday lender on Thursday to return 500 000 to borrowers who were overcharged a fine that people familiar with the matter said was only a third of what the prior Obama-era head of the agency had sought The settlement between Triton Management Group Inc and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB was signed by Mick Mulvaney who President Donald Trump named in November as the agencys interim director Mulvaneys predecessor Richard Cordray a Democrat who was appointed by President Barack Obama had decided Tritons customers were owed about 15 million and he wanted that money returned according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter The consent order which the CFPB posted on its website said the agency entered a judgment of 15 million against Triton but the actual payback to borrowers was reduced to 500 000 because Triton did not have the funds An attorney for Triton Allen Denson said the lender was happy with the settlement that put the bureaus investigation behind it The settlement is at least the third time that Mulvaney has dropped or reduced consumer payouts from cases under his review Triton Management which operates about 100 storefront lending offices across the South routinely overcharged borrowers in Mississippi the CFPB said Customers who went in to borrow a few hundred dollars for about a month could end up paying more than twice that sum if they extended the life of the loan Triton did not disclose the true costs to borrowers the CFPB concluded Reporting by Patrick Rucker Editing by Leslie Adler and Chris Reese