Officials from Colorado-based Abound Solar are facing a criminal investigation over possible fraud, it has emerged.
The District Attorney’s Office for Weld County, Colorado, has revealed it is investigating an unspecified number of employees of the PV manufacturer, which declared bankruptcy in July and is no longer operating.
The DA’s office said its probe was investigating three main allegations.
The first is that Abound officials knew they were selling defective products but persuaded investors to invest in the company anyway.
The second main allegation centres on whether Abound misled financial institutions when it applied for a bridging loan to keep the company afloat until it received federally guaranteed loans. The company received a US$400 million loan from the US Department of Energy, US$70 million of which it had drawn down before going bankrupt.
A third allegation concerns possible consumer fraud, and whether Abound officials knowingly sold consumers defective products.
The office of DA Ken Buck said no charges had been made in connection with the investigation.
