Lawsuit Alleges Low-Income Homeowners Were Manipulated Into Getting PACE Green-Energy Loans

By Susie Steimle, CBS San Francisco:

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — As Project Home previously uncovered, a green energy program that targets low-income homeowners continues to leave a trail of financial hardships and foreclosures in its wake. Now, KPIX 5 has gotten an exclusive interview with the state agency tasked to oversee the troubled program.

“Definitely I think we have seen some predatory behavior,” said Maria Luisa Cesar, a commissioner with the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, the agency tasked to oversee California’s so-called PACE program, which stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy. “We’ve seen the program mis-characterized as a free government program, which it’s not, we’ve seen instances where documents have been forged where contractors have been paid without doing any of the work. We’ve also seen companies utilize these deceptive practices and target immigrant non-English speaking communities.”

Like Gloria Sanchez. In a class-action lawsuit she claims she was hammered with calls and text messages from a PACE solicitor called Garantia Solar. She says the salesperson told her a program created by former president Obama required homeowners to have solar panels installed on their property by 2020. And she could do it, for no money down and just $800 dollars more a year on her property taxes.

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