The Legal Aid Society has filed a lawsuit against five companies in the residential solar panel business for using deceptive business practices, including misleading advertising, misrepresentations of cost, and fraud, to target seniors and homeowners in communities of color.

The suit alleges that these companies, Solar Mosaic LLC, SUNco Capital LLC, ATTYX UTAH LLC, ATTYX LLC, and WebBank, work in tandem to target and pressure homeowners to sign seemingly affordable loan agreements for solar panel installation, claiming it will lower energy costs and add value to their home. After signing, homeowners are met with monthly bills that are significantly more expensive, leaving low-income homeowners on the hook for payments they did not agree to.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Claver Campbell, a 75-year-old Black homeowner from Queens, who fell victim to these predatory and abusive practices. Mrs. Campbell, who lives on a fixed income, was told by multiple SUNco salesmen that her monthly solar panel payment would be $184. The company now claims she owes over $500/month.

Mrs. Campbell, shocked and confused at the amount, has made multiple attempts to cancel her agreement, which SUNco has not honored. In fact, the company has taken the additional step of putting a lien on her property.

“Mrs. Campbell is just one victim of many across New York and the country of a solar panel industry that uses misleading advertisements and misrepresentations about lower electricity bills and instead unknowingly saddle people into unaffordable loans,” said Jennifer N. Levy, an attorney with Legal Aid’s Foreclosure Prevention Unit. “Their tactics harken back to subprime mortgage lending of the early aughts which ultimately brought down our economy.”

In August, NPR reported that customer complaints against the residential rooftop solar industry have increased dramatically in recent years, with one-star ratings on Solar Reviews spiking more than 1,000% since 2018. Prosecutors across the country, according to NPR’s reporting, are “investigating high-pressure sales tactics and misleading financing arrangements.”

New York City homeowners who have been impacted by a solar panel scam can contact The Legal Aid Society by completing the online intake form here.

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