OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The head of an Oklahoma-based Indian tribe and two Internet payday loan companies it owns are appealing $1.5 million in fines from banking regulators in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Department of Banking earlier this month fined Otoe-Missouria Tribal Chairman John Shotton $700,000 for loans to Connecticut residents that allegedly violate caps on interest rates there. The tribal payday lending companies Great Plains Lending LLC and Clear Creek Lending LLC were fined $800,000.

The appeals were filed on Friday in Connecticut Superior Court, The Oklahoman reported. Based in Red Rock, in Noble County, the Otoe-Missouria tribe has about 3,000 members, mostly in Oklahoma.

In their appeals, Shotton and the companies contend that tribal sovereignty protects them from having to comply with many state and federal laws on interest rates and disclosures to borrowers.

The companies are an important part of the Otoe-Missouria's business portfolio that generate new revenue for the tribe, Heather Payne, a spokeswoman for the tribe, said in a statement.

"This revenue is used to provide critical support services for tribal elders, educational programs for our children and funding for tribal members in financial emergencies," Payne said. "These entities are also an important source of jobs in northern Oklahoma. We will not allow the state of Connecticut to attack our sovereignty, our community or our most vulnerable members."

The Otoe-Missouria Tribe is one of several American Indian tribes that have entered the payday lending business in recent years.

Earlier this month, two online payday lending companies affiliated with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they broke the law by charging consumers undisclosed and inflated fees by agreeing to pay $21 million as well as waive another $285 million in charges that were assessed but not collected from customers.

The Federal Trade Commission is pursuing similar claims against the online payday lender Red Cedar Services, Inc., affiliated with the Oklahoma-based Modoc Tribe.