Rhode Island attorney general sues solar company

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha said Wednesday that has filed a lawsuit against a solar company for engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices targeting state consumers.

Smart Green Solar, LLC and its CEO Jasjit Gotra are accused of violating the Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practice Act by making unsolicited sales pitches for residential solar panel systems.

The suit alleges that several consumers believe the company misled them during the sales process, telling them they would be eligible for tax credits, structuring payment installments so they dramatically increased over time, and taking advantage of a visually impaired customer by charging for panels that were never installed.

The company is also accused of rushing through the contracting process and not giving consumers a copy of the contract.

“The defendants deceived and took financial advantage of Rhode Islanders who were looking to do the right thing and ‘go green,’ leaving them with significantly less than they bargained for,” Neronha said.

He added that CEO Gotra and a previous company, Alliance Security, Inc., were each fined $9.85 million in civil penalties by the Federal Trade Commission for illegal telemarking and illegally obtaining consumer credit reports.