{"id":241585,"date":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/241585\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","slug":"texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-investigates-solar-panel-companies-in-fight-against-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/241585\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton investigates solar panel companies in fight against fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) &#8212; The Texas Attorney General&#8217;s Office is launching what it calls a &#8220;major initiative to combat widespread fraud&#8221; by companies selling solar panel systems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The AG&#8217;s office said they are investigating more than 100 complaints against four companies, including Freedom Forever LLC, which 13 Investigates looked into last year after hearing from concerned viewers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">RELATED: <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc13.com\/post\/houston-woman-says-solar-panel-sales-pitch-lands-138k-contract\/16774880\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Houston woman says solar panel sales pitch lands her in $138K contract<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">RELATED: <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc13.com\/post\/13-investigates-solar-contract-canceled-days-womans-death\/16855926\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">13 Investigates: Solar contract canceled days after woman&#8217;s death<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The companies are being investigated for violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;This initiative to stop widespread fraudulent activity in the solar panel industry is only beginning,&#8221; Attorney General Paxton said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The four impacted have been sent Civil Investigation Demands, or CIDs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;The CIDs require the companies to disclose, among other information, documents regarding how they track changes to electricity bills for consumers using their systems to determine savings, warranties, service plans, marketing materials, and contract information,&#8221; according to the AG&#8217;s Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The crackdown comes after legislators passed two consumer protection bills related to the solar industry that took effect in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">13 Investigates first started looking into consumer concerns with solar panels last June, when 78-year-old Delores Wigal told us she stood to lose her home over a solar contract she said she couldn&#8217;t afford and didn&#8217;t understand when she signed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">After 13 Investigates reached out to Freedom Forever and the other companies involved in the contract, they decided to cancel Wigal&#8217;s $138,000 contract.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;They made a real sucker out of me,&#8221; Wigal said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Wigal died before we could share the news with her that her contract had been canceled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">At the time, a spokesperson for Freedom Forever said they are committed to ethical, transparent solar installations and ensuring all customers are fully informed and that they work closely with their partners to uphold the highest standards of clarity and care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A spokesperson for Freedom Forever told 13 Investigates it has not received any communications or formal requested related to the AG&#8217;s news release and that when it does, it will fully cooperate to address any questions or concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Freedom Forever is proud to be one of the largest solar installers in Texas, with thousands of positive customer reviews reflecting our commitment to quality and customer service,&#8221; the company said in a statement. &#8220;Additionally, we wanted to provide additional background that is important for any reporting on this matter to accurately distinguish among the companies and legal entities referenced in the Attorney General&#8217;s press release. The press release describes Freedom Forever LLC as doing business as &#8216;Freedom Solar,&#8217; and we want to ensure there is no confusion, as there are multiple solar companies operating in Texas whose names may be similar or operate under the name &#8216;Freedom Solar.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Contact 13 Investigates<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Have a tip? A problem to solve? Send a tip below. If you don&#8217;t have a photo or document to include, just hit &#8216;skip upload&#8217; and send the details.  <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/static.usechimney.com\/campaign\/d1ab2c61-662a-215f-9b54-3a044d1155ec\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">(On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) &#8212; The Texas Attorney General&#8217;s Office is launching what it calls a &#8220;major initiative to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[92551,27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-241585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-92551","9":"tag-texas","10":"tag-texas-headlines","11":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}