NYC suing solar panel company Radiant Solar for allegedly defrauding customers
New York City announced a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the solar panel company Radiant Solar of defrauding New Yorkers.
The city's lawsuit says Radiant Solar engaged in deceptive and illegal conduct that drove up utility costs for consumers across the city.
NYC seeking over $1 million in civil penalties, $18 million in restitution
The city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) first began receiving complaints about Radiant Solar in December 2021, and they began investigating the company in August 2024.
According to the lawsuit, in the past five years alone, the company illegally promoted over $18 million in loans to at least 370 customers in the city, including about $3 million in hidden, undisclosed dealer fees.
The company is also accused of providing shoddy or incomplete solar panel installation and damaging consumers' homes.
The DCWP is seeking $1,752,225 in civil penalties and approximately $18 million in restitution. The DCWP also wants the company to shut down and the company's president and owner/operator, William James Bushell, to be held personally accountable.
It is unclear if Radiant Solar is still in business. Their website is offline, and CBS News New York reached out to the owner, who did not return our calls.
Customer said ceiling collapsed after solar panel installation
In 2024, a CBS News New York Investigation found more than two dozen people had filed complaints against Radiant Solar.
Customers claimed their panels didn't work or failed inspections, and the company was allegedly unresponsive.
One customer, an 82-year-old retired carpenter, told CBS News New York several months after Radiant Solar installed solar panels on his roof, his ceiling collapsed following an intense rainstorm.
The customer's homeowner's insurance company blamed Radiant Solar and told him there was no coverage for "improper/faulty workmanship" of "solar panel installation," but the customer said Radiant Solar wouldn't fix the hole in his ceiling or return his calls.
At the time, Radiant Solar defended their work and claimed in an email to CBS News New York that the damage was caused by an unrelated leak and rotting exposed wood.
