TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced legal action against M.C. Solar and Roofing, a Tampa company accused of scamming hundreds of customers across the state.
According to Moody, the company preyed on seniors, veterans and people with disabilities by taking their money but never doing the work and sometimes even damaging their homes. Moody said the company would entice customers to sign up by promising federal tax incentives, guaranteed 25-year warranties and misrepresented interest rates.
Once they would secure financing, Moody said they'd pay themselves and then disappear.
"So they didn't perform the work, they didn't follow through on what was promised. The homeowners were on the hook for these large amounts, then they would lien their homes at the same time and then try to convince them to sign different finance agreements at a higher rate," Moody said.
Joel Santos, a Tampa pastor who lives in Brandon, says he was a victim of the scam. He said his panels were installed in August of 2022 but were never fully hooked up.
"Now, 15 months into this, and I still am not connected," Santos explained.
Santos said he was curious about solar energy after hearing positive reviews from neighbors. Then, he met a salesperson with M.C. Solar at a tradeshow who sold him on the financial benefits.
"They gave me $1,200. Then, according to the way they would make a sound, the government was going to refund you everything else. That's the way they sold it," Santos said. He signed into a contract for 22 panels, through a $34,000 loan.
Once the panels were installed, the company said they could not complete the connection process because of a missing screw. Then, when he tried to reach back out to M.C. Solar over the following months, he couldn't get through to anyone.
"They just give you a runaround. Nobody's picking up the phone. One guy said I'm no longer with the company," Santos said.
Now, Attorney General Moody is filing a civil suit to permanently ban the owners of M.C. Solar — Armando Almirall, Raman Chopra, and Michael Crowder — from engaging in the solar business. The action also requests injunctive relief, restitution, and civil penalties.
"In addition to this civil action, we're also looking at this criminally," Moody said. "I mean, the amount of deceptive and unfair practices that are involved in this case just it's like gremlins."
We reached out to M.C. Solar and its owners for comment and have not heard back.
The Attorney General's Office advises if you feel that you have been a victim of a scam, you can report it to your local law enforcement agency. You can also call their office and file a complaint at 1-866-9-NO-SCAM.