EL PASO — There are still days that Lorena Vargas considers moving. She loves her home, where she babysits and holds “pijamadas,” slumber parties for her grandchildren, and hosts bible study groups and invites her neighbors to use her exercise bike. Yet the space now feels marred by the day a strange man showed up with a lawsuit in hand.
On two occasions men showed up with flashlights at her door knocking after 9 p.m and she didn’t answer the door. One came back during the day and served her with documents alleging that the El Paso grandmother owed more than $100,000 for solar panels she never purchased or installed on her home.
Vargas was dumbfounded and so filled with anxiety that for months couldn’t sleep through the night. “One night I was awake until 7 a.m. I was checking my windows, my doors, looking outside,” Vargas said. “I was so afraid that something could happen to me. I never asked for any loan.” And the 66-year-old said she never signed a contract.
Attorneys at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid are representing Vargas. Her case is among 15 that TRLA is actively pursuing, along the Texas-Mexico border. Most are homeowners in El Paso and the targets are frequently elderly, people with disabilities, and veterans according to TRLA attorneys.
Sales people promise that residents' electric bills will go down or that solar panels are free under a federal government program or would be low cost because of a big rebate, according to Karina Garza, spokesperson for Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid.
In about half of these cases, attorneys say the homeowner signed a contract, but services were never delivered. In other cases, attorneys say residents did not get documents but were asked to sign a digital form on an electronic tablet to get a rebate.
Now, they’re being sued for failing to make payments. “Cross River Bank, which is a multi-billion dollar corporation, has a documented history of ending up being owed thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars for loans for solar panels that the victims have no idea about,” said Wayne Krause Yang, manager of the consumer protection team at TRLA.
Vargas lives on a fixed income in a home she’s owned for nearly two decades. She does not like credit cards because she does not want to owe money. Her electric bill ranges between $35 and $50 a month, so buying solar panels never crossed her mind.
“It's sinister, and it's turning her life upside down,” Krause Yang said. “That's why we're fighting back and suing. It is illegal to do these things, but in aggregate, many people don't know how to fight back, that even though their name might appear on something that looks like a legal contract, they may not be obligated to pay that money.”
TRLA has filed a lawsuit in response May 20 against Cross River Bank, Sunlight Financial LLC and Titan Asset Purchasing LLC. The allegations include: identity theft, negligence and “unfair debt collection.” KTEP News contacted all three companies by phone and email, but did not get a response.
Following a press conference in May announcing Vargas’ case, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid received a wave of calls from others with similar stories.
“In other words, we're hearing complaints about lenders that are scamming people into long, profitable, consistent payments from the very people who can afford it least: elderly folks, people whose language isn't primarily English, and people who don't have enough money or education to know that they can fight back.”
Texas is ranked second in the country for solar panel installations, according to a spring report from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Interest in renewable energy continues to grow despite the Trump administration eliminating tax incentives. The 30 percent residential solar credit ended January 1st under the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
In April, the Texas Attorney General’s Office issued Civil Investigative Demands to several companies including Freedom Forever, LLC. (“Freedom Solar”), SunRun, Inc. (“Sunrun”), Lone Star Solar Services LLC (“Lone Star Solar”), and CAM Solar Inc. (“CAM Solar”). This demand would require companies to disclose savings, warranties, service plans, marketing materials, and contract information.
There are more than 100 complaints filed with the OAG against these companies and thousands online. They’re being investigated for “violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act,” including allegedly misrepresenting savings for consumers, the “efficacy of their solar panel systems, equipment implementations, as well as the companies’ terms and policies.”
“The dark underbelly of that movement [toward solar] was the development of a very aggressive direct sales operation,” said Ann Baddour, director of Fair Financial Services Project at the nonprofit, Texas Appleseeds. “Where people got all their money on the front end of the transaction. And so there wasn't a lot of interest in seeing the transaction being successful. The interest was more in making the sale.”
It often reminds Baddour of the lead up to the 2008 housing crisis. The mortgage lending that wasn’t based on the ability to repay or for the benefit of the borrower.
“You have a salesperson who was independent, a contractor just doing this for commission. The lender was also independent, and they were soliciting the salespeople,” she said. “Training them on how to offer their particular loans.”
Baddour said her organization saw an uptick in solar panel scams statewide following winter storm Uri in 2021. Texas Appleseeds analyzed complaint data from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. From January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2024 El Paso County had the highest rate of complaints among the largest counties in Texas, one per 10,000.
Lack of regulation is also a problem advocates expect to improve this year with Senate Bill 1036, the Residential Solar Retailers program, a law passed last year which has been implemented in phases.
Beginning September 1, 2026: “residential solar retailers and solar salespersons must be registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to conduct sales or leases of residential solar panels and residential solar energy systems.”
The law already requires a permit for installation by a licensed electrical contractor and adds a provision that allows a solar panel buyer or lessee right-to-cancel on or before the fifth day without penalty.
“Consumer protection is a top priority when it comes to solar,” said Sam Silerio, Texas Program Director of Solar United Neighbors, a non-profit that educates and advocates about the benefits of solar panels. “And with the new law now we have teeth to fight against fraudulent actors in the solar industry.”
The City of El Paso is partnering with the national non-profit Solar United Neighbors on a campaign called “Switch Together.”
As part of the campaign residents can register to get quotes from vetted companies. Solar United Neighbors offers a bilingual help desk where people can call 202-888-3601 with questions in English or Spanish about solar installation.
Lorena Vargas is sharing her experience to prevent others from going through a similar ordeal.
“I have to be strong,” Vargas said.” I just want to clear myself of this problem I never looked for. I want to move forward, finish this nightmare and start over.”
