Ygrene Lawsuit in Florida: FTC Refunds, Shutdown, and PACE Liens

The Ygrene lawsuit in Florida refers to a 2022 enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General accusing Ygrene Energy Fund of using deceptive sales tactics, forged signatures, and unauthorized liens to push Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing on homeowners, including thousands across Florida. The case settled for $3 million in consumer relief, and in July 2025 the FTC distributed more than $2.9 million to 960 affected homeowners, most of them in California and Florida.¹ One important limit: the settlement did not erase the liens on anyone’s property.

What Ygrene Was Accused of Doing

The FTC and California filed suit on October 28, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.² The complaint said Ygrene recruited a salesforce of home improvement contractors to pitch PACE financing for projects like solar panels, roofing, and air conditioners, then failed to train or monitor them.

Three sets of allegations drove the case. Ygrene and its contractors told homeowners that PACE financing would not affect selling or refinancing their homes, when in reality many mortgage lenders require the PACE lien to be paid off in full first. Contractors recorded liens on properties without the homeowner’s informed consent, and in some cases forged homeowner signatures outright by completing electronic sign-ups on their behalf.² Contractors used high-pressure door-to-door sales and rushed homeowners through electronic signing on small mobile screens so they could not read what they were signing.³ The California Attorney General’s office said contractors sometimes impersonated consumers on the follow-up verification calls that were supposed to confirm consent.⁴

In Florida, Collier County drew particular attention. Residents including Elena Mola reported that contractors solicited elderly homeowners, non-English speakers, and disabled veterans door to door after Hurricane Irma, telling them PACE was a free government program with no interest and no penalties. Ygrene was the largest PACE provider in the county. One homeowner reported receiving two Ygrene liens totaling $49,000 for a new roof and air conditioner after a door-to-door pitch; his annual property tax bill went from roughly $720 to over $6,135. Contractors allegedly had seniors sign on mobile devices with screens too small to read, forged signatures on notices of commencement, and started construction before homeowners had their financing agreements.⁵ Ygrene’s then-senior vice president Mike Lemyre denied the allegations, pointing to mandatory disclosure calls, a three-day cancellation window, and only two complaints out of 400 projects in the county.

The Florida Attorney General’s office opened its own investigation into Ygrene and had received more than 100 consumer complaints since January 2019.⁶ No public enforcement outcome from that investigation has been reported.

The Settlement

Ygrene settled without admitting or denying the allegations.⁷ The stipulated order required the company to place $3 million in escrow for consumer relief for homeowners whose homes remained subject to Ygrene liens. If releasing those liens cost less than $3 million, the remainder was to go to the FTC for additional redress.² A $22 million judgment figure appears in some related records, including a CFPB rulemaking and Miami-Dade County filings, but the amount Ygrene was actually required to pay under the settlement was $3 million.⁸

The order also imposed conduct requirements going forward. Ygrene must stop making false claims about how PACE affects home sales and refinancing, get express informed consent before using a property as collateral, and oversee its contractors meaningfully.⁹ The company has to survey homeowners with outstanding liens to find out whether documents were actually signed or authorized, investigate complaints, terminate contractors who break the law, and file regular compliance reports with both the FTC and the California Attorney General.⁴

Who Got Refund Checks

In July 2025, the FTC sent more than $2.9 million to 960 consumers. Of the recipients, 518 were in California, with most of the rest in Florida. The median refund was $2,555.⁷ Recipients were chosen based on findings tied to the settlement, with a focus on homeowners whose homes remained subject to liens placed through deceptive practices or forged signatures. Refund checks had to be cashed within 90 days and PayPal payments redeemed within 30 days.¹

One point to be clear about: the refunds did not remove anyone’s PACE lien. The FTC specifically noted that the liens “remain outstanding until paid” by the homeowner.¹⁰ A homeowner who cashed a settlement check still owes the full PACE assessment on their property tax bill.

The 2022 Florida Shutdown

Days before the FTC complaint, Ygrene suspended all PACE operations in Florida effective October 22, 2022. The company said it had “suspended all PACE operations including funding” and was “working hard to secure potential funding sources.”¹¹ CEO Jim Reinhart attributed the halt to the loss of a funding partner, and internal company presentations from September 2022 showed revenue margins had declined over 60 percent on rising interest rates and investor demands.⁶

The sudden stop stranded homeowners mid-project. Some were left owing contractors for work that was supposed to be paid through PACE. One Florida couple faced a $45,000 bill; others paid contractors with high-interest credit cards.⁶ In Melbourne, a contractor who had already installed a new air conditioning system placed a lien on the homeowners’ house after Ygrene did not pay, triggering foreclosure proceedings.¹¹ Legal reviews of Ygrene’s contracts found language letting the company withdraw from financing at any point before a homeowner began making payments, leaving many with no recourse. Contractors reported that Ygrene “reneged on every single one” of the open files that had not yet closed, with one contractor alone losing 60 projects.¹²

Ygrene resumed Florida operations in February 2023.¹¹

Private Lawsuits Involving Florida Homeowners

Separate from the government case, Ygrene has faced private class action litigation. In March 2017, Grachian and Mary Jane Smith of Broward County, Florida, together with Alejandro and Felicia Marcey of San Diego County, California, filed a putative class action in the Northern District of California. The suit alleged Ygrene used deceptive sales practices, led consumers to believe PACE loans were risk-free and government-backed, concealed prepayment penalties, and misrepresented that loans would stay with the property. Claims were brought under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and other theories including fraud and unjust enrichment.¹³ A November 2017 order dismissed some claims by two named plaintiffs but let others proceed, including a tortious interference claim brought by the California subclass.¹⁴

In December 2025, the California Supreme Court decided Morgan v. Ygrene Energy Fund, Inc., a class action brought by homeowners over 65 alleging Ygrene and Renew Financial Group failed to comply with consumer protection and lending laws, including provisions barring security interests in the primary residences of buyers over 65. The court held that because the central claims effectively sought to invalidate assessments collected as property taxes, plaintiffs generally had to follow tax-challenge procedures first. The court left open the possibility that claims not directly challenging a tax could proceed, and sent the case back to the trial court on that basis.¹⁵ That ruling is California law, but it signals how courts treat challenges to assessments that look like property taxes, a structure Florida PACE programs share.

Why a PACE Lien Is Hard to Get Rid Of

The reason Ygrene’s conduct caused lasting damage, even after the settlement, comes down to how PACE financing works. PACE loans are repaid through a non-ad valorem assessment added to the property tax bill, typically over 10 to 20 years.¹⁶ Because they are billed as property taxes, PACE assessments are senior to existing mortgage debt. In a foreclosure or tax sale, delinquent PACE payments get paid before the mortgage lender does.¹⁷

That seniority has concrete consequences. The Federal Housing Finance Agency bars Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from buying mortgages on properties with PACE assessments, and the FHA will not insure new mortgages on them.¹⁷ A homeowner with a PACE lien often cannot refinance or sell to a conventional buyer without paying off the entire PACE balance. The CFPB has also pointed out that homeowners have limited options to dispute the quality of work or costs once a PACE loan is signed, because payments are folded into the tax bill and local taxing authorities generally cannot step in.¹⁶

Historically, PACE programs did not require verification that a homeowner could repay. A Florida legislative analysis found that privately administered PACE programs operated with “little government oversight,” which enabled aggressive door-to-door sales, excessive fees, above-market interest rates, and shoddy workmanship.¹⁷

What Changed in Florida Law

Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 770 in June 2024, with most provisions effective July 1, 2024. The law introduced ability-to-pay income qualifications for residential PACE borrowers, required a confirmation-of-terms phone call with the homeowner, and added new financial disclosures, including a direction that homeowners be told to get at least two contractor estimates for larger projects. It capped PACE assessments at 20 percent of a home’s value, cut the maximum residential financing term from 30 years to 20 years, and required PACE providers to verify contractor licensing and registration.¹⁸ The legislation also formally separated residential and commercial PACE regulatory frameworks and expanded eligible improvements to include septic-to-sewer conversions and flood resiliency projects.¹⁹

At the federal level, the CFPB finalized a rule in December 2024, published January 10, 2025, requiring PACE lenders to follow standard mortgage disclosure rules and traditional underwriting, including verifying income, credit scores, and employment. The rule, effective March 1, 2026, cited Ygrene’s $22 million settlement as part of its justification.²⁰

Where Ygrene Stands Now

Ygrene is still active. The company is headquartered in Miami and continues to market PACE financing to Florida homeowners for energy efficiency, storm protection, and other improvements. Its website advertises more than 90,000 completed projects in Florida and over $2 billion funded for Florida homeowners.²¹ Ygrene operates in multiple Florida counties, including Sarasota County through the Green Corridor PACE District.²²

A company spokesperson told the Press Democrat that the FTC inquiry focused on issues before 2018 caused by “a few contractors that defrauded customers,” and that Ygrene has been in compliance with the settlement, having added protections and procedures since 2017.⁷ Property owners who received PACE funding before the 2022 shutdown remain in the program solely for the purpose of repaying their outstanding debt.⁸

If you have an Ygrene PACE assessment on your Florida home and believe it was placed through forgery, misrepresentation, or without your informed consent, the settlement’s conduct provisions require Ygrene to investigate complaints and survey affected homeowners. Complaints can also be filed with the Florida Attorney General’s office, which has its own investigation open, and with the FTC.

1
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