An El Paso grandma on a fixed income heard a knock at her door late one night, leaving her in shock.
It was a man serving her a lawsuit claiming she owed $100,000 for a loan she took out to put solar panels on her roof. Lorena Vargas was left speechless as she had never even spoken to anyone about solar panels.
“It is scary that people can do that,” Vargas said. “I don’t know how they got my information. I was thinking maybe they found a paper in the trash with my information. A lot of the information was wrong.”
Despite never signing any legal documents or having any solar panels installed, the six-figure loan was taken out in her name through Cross River Bank in New Jersey, said Wayne Krause Yang, Vargas’ attorney and team manager of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid Consumer Protection Team.
“This company suing me just came out of nowhere while I’m just trying to survive,” Vargas said. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I only get Social Security and don’t have money to pay this debt. I just want this to be made right.”
Titan Asset Purchasing LLC filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Vargas on Nov. 10, court records show. Titan Asset Purchasing bought the debt from Cross River Bank, Yang said.
Vargas went to the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal aid for people who can’t afford an attorney, for help.
Vargas and her attorney filed a countersuit against Cross River Bank, Titan Asset Purchasing LLC, and Sunlight Financial LLC, a loan service provider that works with the bank.
Kyla Baxter, who is listed as the attorney for Titan Asset Purchasing, could not immediately be reached for comment. Efforts to reach officials from Cross River Bank and Sunlight Financial were unsuccessful.
“An El Paso grandmother fights back by filing a lawsuit against the corporations that falsely saddled her with six figures worth of debt,” Yang said. “Cross River Bank and its co-conspirators created documents that claim that Lorena Vargas owes more than $100,000 for solar panels. Ms. Vargas got sued for $100,000, but there are some problems with that.”
Yang argued in the countersuit that Vargas never signed any documents, and the financial institutions named in the lawsuit have a questionable history.
“Ms. Vagas never even saw a contract, and she doesn’t have any solar panels as alleged in our suit,” Yang said. “Cross River Bank has a documented history of failing to maintain proper, reliable lending practices, and Cross River Bank and its co-conspirators broke fair credit and debt collection laws by approving and selling massive forged loans for profit in a retired senior citizen’s name without her knowledge and without her consent.”
‘Living the worst nightmare of my life’
In the lawsuit filed by Titan Asset Purchasing, the company claims Vargas executed, signed and agreed to the loan for solar panels. They added that she has refused to make any efforts to repay the loan.
Vargas’ countersuit argues that she never requested the loan, agreed to it or signed any contracts or other legal documents. It argues that Cross River Bank, Titan Asset Purchasing LLC, and Sunlight Financial allegedly created a “massive” contract with a forged digital signature of Vargas.
Vargas said she would never try to get solar panels since her electricity bill is low.
“I am living the worst nightmare of my life for money that I never asked for,” Vargas said. “A loan that I never asked for. I didn’t even think to have solar panels on my house because my bill is so cheap to pay for my electricity.”
The lawsuit alleges the companies conducted multiple credit checks for Vargas without her consent. It also alleges that Cross River Bank has more than 150 complaints made by consumers with the Better Business Bureau and has been a defendant in several fraud lawsuits.
Vargas is asking for a jury trial to hear her lawsuit. She is requesting that she be relieved of the debt and for it to be voided, and for jurors to find that she is a victim of theft. She is also asking for monetary damages for mental anguish and emotional damages she has suffered.
“Ms. Vargas is now living in fear of losing her life savings, forever home, or both due to the counter-defendants’ actions,” the countersuit states.
“They have taken the golden years of a happy retiree and painted them red for their own profit.”
A trial date has not been set, court records show.
Scams connected to solar panels increasing
Scams involving solar panels have been increasing in recent years as consumers try to lower their electric bills, El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said.
“We’ve been seeing these scams on the rise for the past couple of years,” Sanchez said. “I can tell you that with our office, we have seen a handful of these come through our doors within the past year. More so than usual on the solar end.”
Sam Solerio, the Texas program director for Solar United Neighbors, spoke about how scammers are taking advantage of people just trying to lower their electric bills. Solar United Neighbors is a national nonprofit that helps people go solar and provides information to help consumers avoid being scammed.
While Vargas was an alleged victim whose information was stolen, thousands of consumers searching for solar panels are being scammed.
“What happened to Ms. Vargas is not right, and it happens far too often,” Solerio said. “Consumer protection issues are critical to our work at Solar United Neighbors because if people don’t trust the technology, then it won’t get adopted, but solar remains an excellent upgrade, especially here in El Paso, known as the Sun City.”
Consumers looking for help to purchase solar panels and check on the legitimacy of solar companies can call Solar United Neighbors at 202-888-3601 or visit solarunitedneighbors.org.
Tips to avoid scams
The El Paso County Attorney’s Office provided tips and red flags consumers should be on the lookout for when shopping for solar panels.
Common tactis used by solar scammers include:
Consumers should walk away for any deal if they hear these red flags:
Tips on how to report a scam:
Consumers should save all documents related to the suspected scam to bring to law enforcement and the county attorney’s office. The documents include contracts and finance documents, written communications, salesperson information, payment receipts and any physical evidence.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso grandma sues alleged solar panel scammers who took loan in her name
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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