The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is intensifying its scrutiny of SoLo Funds, a lending startup backed by tennis star Serena Williams. The CFPB has introduced a proposed rule that would restrict the way SoLo charges its customers.

READ MORE:Serena Williams being ‘ghosted’ in first relationship fueled tennis career: ‘He’s gonna regret this’

This action follows a lawsuit filed by the regulator earlier this year, alleging deceptive lending practices by SoLo Funds. The startup, which provides peer-to-peer lending through a pay-what-you-like model, has been accused of misleading borrowers with its advertising claims of “zero-interest loans or 0% APR.” The CFPB’s proposed rule aims to ensure transparency and fair pricing in the lending market.

SoLo Funds, founded in 2018 by Rodney Williams and Travis Holoway, offers individuals access to capital through its peer-to-peer lending platform. Unlike traditional lenders, SoLo allows borrowers to set their own fees, known as “tips,” when they borrow through the website.

However, according to the Financial Times, the CFPB alleges that these tips often exceed federal or state caps on what lenders can charge, resulting in borrowers paying fees that far exceed existing limits.

RELATED:Serena Williams    Entrepreneur Husband Alexis Ohanian Reveals He Has Lyme Disease

The CFPB’s proposed rule targets the tipping model used by SoLo Funds and other FinTech companies. It requires lenders to price their loans in terms of annual interest rates rather than flat fees. Additionally, the rule mandates that fees charged by SoLo and similar platforms must not exceed federal or state caps.

The CFPB aims to promote fair competition and prevent the exploitation of borrowers through excessive fees.

PYMNTS reported in May that SoLo Funds expressed surprise and disappointment at the CFPB’s lawsuit, stating that the company has been working with the regulator for the past 18 months to establish a regulatory framework.

UPDATE:Serena Williams dishes the dirt on her exes

CEO and Co-founder Travis Holoway emphasized that SoLo has diligently followed the rules and sought collaboration with regulators.

The startup believes its model provides affordable access to credit for Americans and is in compliance with federal and state lending laws.

An ex-lover may have fueled the legendary career of Serena Williams.

The tennis great recalled a relationship gone bad early in her career in an episode of ESPN’s new docuseries “In The Arena: Serena Williams,” which is airing on the network’s streaming platform.

RAD MORE:Serena Williams Entrepreneur Husband Alexis Ohanian Reveals He Has Lyme Disease

“It was the first relationship that I had ever had but I was in my 20s, so you know, whatever. That was that. And then I go home, and he ghosts me. I got ghosted,” Williams said. “And it wasn’t even that serious, but it was like, I used that and I made it way more serious than what it was.”

Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam titles during her illustrious tennis career, took that as a reason to take her tennis game to an even higher level.

“So when he ghosted me, I used that as an opportunity to say, ‘He’s gonna regret this for the rest of his life,’” Williams said. “That was just the motivation I needed, just the excuse I used to go the extra mile. I’m gonna make sure that this person never forgets me. I’m gonna make sure that this person sees me everywhere for the rest of their life.”

She married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2017, a year and a half after the couple met in Rome.

Williams and Ohanian share two daughters, Alexis Olympia, 6, and Adira River, whom the couple welcomed into their lives in August 2023.

UPDATE:Serena Williams dishes the dirt on her exes

In August 2022, Williams announced she was retiring from the court, stating she was “evolving away from tennis” in a Vogue magazine article.

“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” Williams wrote. “A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm.

Alexis Ohanian is opening up about his health and a recent diagnosis.

The 41-year-old entrepreneur husband of Serena Williams took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that after some testing, he learned that he has Lyme disease.

“Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have lyme disease. Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat. Good cholesterol is too low. Bad cholesterol is just OK. Gotta work on that. On the plus-side: 822 ng/dL total + 162 ng/dL free testosterone,” he shared on his X account.

“I’ve got a loved one who had it a few years back, showed tons symptoms etc and just couldn’t figure it out until they tested him for it and then found it (treated it successfully, too). I spend so little time in the wilderness/northeast this was quite a surprise,” Alexis continued. He also encouraged followers to talk to a doctor and not take any health advice from him.

According the CDC, Lyme disease is a “bacterial infection spread to people through the bite of blacklegged ticks.”

Symptoms can include “fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.”

Serena Williams is one of the most recognizable figures in American sport, let alone just tennis, although her private life has been largely kept private in recent years.

In professional tennis, even champions like Serena Williams find humor in their past dalliances away from the court.

Recently, Serena shared a light-hearted confession about her previous romantic relationship, in which she was remarkably self-deprecating.

During an interview on the YouTube show Hot Ones by First We Feast, the 23-time Grand Slam winner candidly discussed her dating history, referring to some relationships as ‘red flags.’

Holding a bottle of hot sauce labeled Red Flag, Williams used the prop as a running joke when discussing her former partners.

“Red flag. Oh, like some guys I dated,” Williams told Hot Ones.

Who has Serena Williams dated?

Serena’s dating history has been a topic of interest in the tennis community. She is now happily married to Alexis Ohanian, an American entrepreneur and investor.

They met by chance in Rome in 2015, and their friendship soon turned into love. They married in 2017 and have been together ever since.

Before Ohanian, Serena’s relationships often made headlines.

She had an on-and-off relationship with Canadian rapper Drake from 2011 to 2015. Additionally, she was rumored to have dated Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov and French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

In her documentary In the Arena: Serena Williams, Serena recalls her first relationship in her 20s. She dated a guy who disappeared without explanation.

“And it wasn’t even that serious, but I used that and I made it way more serious than what it was,” she said.

“So, when he ghosted me, I used that as an opportunity to say, ‘He’s gonna regret this for the rest of his life.'”