The FBI is looking into the business practices of the now shuttered Waukesha company Sun Badger Solar.
A federal search warrant shows the FBI conducted a search last December at San Francisco-based Slack Technologies for electronic communications related to its investigation into Sun Badger.
Slack is a software company that provides a chat tool that businesses use for communication among employees. The FBI searched Slack for communications that could show false representations that were made to Sun Badger customers, according to the search warrant, which was filed by a special agent with the FBI’s Milwaukee office.
Trevor Sumner and Kristopher Snipe co-founded Sun Badger Solar in 2018. The company provided residential and commercial solar installation services to homes and businesses throughout the Midwest,
In 2022, government and law enforcement officials in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota noticed an uptick in the number of consumer complaints related to Sun Badger. Over the last three years, the Better Business Bureau recorded 100 complaints from Sun Badger customers.
Numerous complaints stated Sun Badger took a portion of payment from customers but never completed the work promised, instead abandoning several solar projects.
In January of 2023, the BBB sent Sun Badger a letter concerning this “detected pattern of complaints.” Sun Badger leadership responded by saying the company was struggling through some adversity related to federal interest rate hikes and the possibility of a recession.
“Our primary solar lenders changed the payment structure for 90% of our customers, which resulted in a substantial decrease in cash flow,” according to the response sent to the BBB. “This decrease led to missed payroll and the subsequent furlough of a large portion of our staff, hence the lack of communication.”
Although the company had planned to secure funding to complete its outstanding contracts and rehire personnel, Sun Badger officially shut down in February 2023.
“Upper management instructed SBS sales representatives to continue to promise clients shortened timeframes for project installation, even though the timeframes could not and would not be met,” according to the FBI’s search warrant.
Sun Badger Solar was in a state of “financial crisis,” according to the search warrant. Company leadership was fully aware of the crisis as an internal financial audit was conducted during the fall of 2022. However, the company continued to book projects with new clients.
A report generated by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection estimates the amount of money lost through Sun Badger’s incomplete contracts is $1.3 million.
Sun Badger is currently working its way through the bankruptcy process in Waukesha County Circuit Court. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has also launched an investigation into Sun Badger.
The company is also being sued by the City of Chicago for alleged fraud after the company used the cash deposits paid by consumers to keep the business afloat and pay off existing debts “without any plan to perform on the contracts.”
“Sun Badger falsely blamed the City of Chicago’s ‘bureaucratic’ solar permitting proves for Sun Badger’s inability to perform on its contracts,” according to a complaint in the case. “In reality, Sun Badger had never applied for the solar permits it claimed were tied to the city’s permitting review process.”
