By Khalida Sarwari
The CEO and owner of a San Jose-based residential solar power system company was arrested Tuesday and has been charged with theft and contractor fraud for allegedly falsely claiming to be a licensed contractor, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Peter Be, 38, faces a maximum of 18 years in state prison if convicted on all charges, which include 53 criminal offenses. Charges against him were filed last week, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Ken Rosenblatt said today.
According to the district attorney’s office, Be allegedly lured homeowners with a “Free Solar Program” advertisement which claimed that after leasing Beohana Solar Corporation’s solar energy system for 12 years, homeowners would own it outright.
Despite paying large deposits to lease the systems, homeowners were given a written contract stating in small print that at the end of the 12 years, they still were required to pay for the equipment at its “fair market value,” the district attorney’s office said.
Be and the company, moreover, did not return many deposits or install the solar energy systems, according to the district attorney’s office.
Be is scheduled to be arraigned at Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose either today or Thursday, Rosenblatt said.
The district attorney’s office encourages anyone who may be a victim of Be or Beohana Solar to contact District Attorney Investigator Norm Levy at (408) 792-3701.