Dane County slaps solar company execs with theft by contractor charges

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By JOE SCHULZ

Wisconsin Public Radio

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Two former executives of a defunct solar energy company are facing criminal theft by contractor charges tied to work that was paid for but never completed.

Felony charges were filed in March against former Sun Badger Solar President Trevor Sumner and former Chief Operating Officer Kristopher Sipe in Dane County Circuit Court.

According to the criminal complaint, Sumner and Sipe ran a solar company that took thousands of dollars from customer deposits and then failed to complete projects, allegedly diverting funds for personal use and leaving multiple customers without services or refunds.

Attorneys for Sumner and Sipe did not respond to requests for comment.

Fitchburg police spoke with a restaurant supply store and homeowners who paid $49,140 and $11,417, respectively, for solar installations that were never completed, according to the complaint.

It’s unclear whether additional state or federal charges could follow.

Sun Badger did business in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The company abruptly stopped completing solar installations in 2023, leaving dozens of clients who paid thousands of dollars waiting on unfinished projects.

Sun Badger went into receivership in 2023, with 124 creditors filing claims totaling more than $12.2 million. But customers were not awarded refunds for unfinished work as part of those proceedings.

Over the past several years, the Wisconsin Division of Trade and Consumer Protection, or DATCP, received 146 complaints involving the company, according to an agency spokesperson.

“DATCP did investigate Sun Badger Solar’s business practices and referred its findings to state and federal law enforcement agencies,” the spokesperson said in an email.

The FBI executed a search warrant for Sun Badger’s electronic employee communication records in 2024.

A spokesperson for the FBI’s Milwaukee field office referred a request for comment to the Eastern District of Wisconsin U.S. Attorney’s Office. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it could not comment or provide information that would confirm or deny the existence of a federal investigation.

At the state level, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Justice said the agency could neither confirm nor deny the existence of a criminal investigation into Sun Badger.

In Minnesota, state Attorney General Keith Ellison filed settlements almost two years ago prohibiting Sipe and Sumner from doing business in the state. That’s after Minnesota’s investigation found Sun Badger failed to install promised solar arrays and forced customers to renegotiate their loans due to delays caused by the company.

According to the Minnesota Department of Justice, Sipe and Sumner were employees of Able Energy before founding Sun Badger. The agency says Able Energy swindled more than $1 million from consumers by charging them for work that was never completed.

The charges in Dane County against Sumner and Sipe are based on an investigation by the Fitchburg Police Department.

In 2024, police submitted subpoenas for banking and Intuit QuickBooks records related to Sun Badger, according to the complaint.

The bank records allegedly show multiple transfers into Sipe’s account from the primary checking account of Sun Badger Solar, with the average transaction coming in around $15,000. Those transfers allegedly appear to be used to pay off various credit cards.

Another of Sipe’s accounts also received transfers from Sun Badger, allegedly averaging more than $17,000 per month. Those transfers were allegedly used for subscription services, food deliveries, gym memberships, liquor, luxury hotel stays and smoke shop purchases, according to the complaint.

Investigators also used the QuickBooks documents to identify the payment the restaurant supply store made to Sun Badger, according to the complaint.

“It is likely Sun Badger Solar utilizes QuickBooks for their finances,” the complaint states. “It is also likely the funds paid by both involved victims were deposited into a QuickBooks account, lumped together with other payments received by Sun Badger Solar, LLC, and then deposited into the above accounts.”

A status conference was held in Sipe’s case on Monday, while a preliminary hearing in both cases is scheduled for July 2.