montelLucid PR represents television personality Montel Williams, who today entered a consent order with the New York Dept. of Financial Services.

The state regulator investigated whether Williams' advertising endorsement duties for Selling Source's affiliate, MoneyMutual, violated state law.

The payday loan lender agreed to pay a $2.1M penalty and agreed to stop advertising in the Empire State.

“Using Mr. Williams’s reputation as a trusted celebrity endorser, MoneyMutual marketed loans to struggling consumers with sky-high interest rates -– sometimes in excess of 1,300 percent –- that trapped New Yorkers in destructive cycles of debt,” said a statement from Benjamin Lawsky, the state's banking regulator.

Jonathan Franks, Lucid PR CEO, said DFS found that Williams neither broke the law nor is required to pay a financial penalty.

His client has agreed to "prohibit his likeness and endorsement being used in any manner that does not comply with the terms of the agreement between DFS and the company."

Williams, who took out short-term loans while in the Naval Academy, had nothing to do with the business operations of Selling Source, according to Franks.