Cintra, the company that completed the managed toll lane on I-77 north of Uptown, submitted an unsolicited and secret bid to the North Carolina Department of Transportation to build a new managed lane expansion from 2-77 to the South Carolina state line.
The solar company based off out of Mooresville previously laid off its employees after thousands of complaints and significant loss revenue. Less than a week later, the Ohio Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Pink Energy, alleging they used deceptive and unconscionable tactics on Ohio consumers and poorly installed solar panel systems.
The complaint from the Ohio AG requests a judge issue a permanent injunction against Pink Energy and its officers to prevent them from selling and installing solar panels in the future. It also seeks an order requiring Pink Energy to “reimburse all consumers found to have been damaged” by Pink’s “unlawful actions.”
Many Pink Energy customers told WBTV that their solar panels aren’t producing the energy or the savings they were originally promised. Nonetheless, customers still must make monthly payments on loans that were used to buy the systems. In some cases, the loans are upwards of $60,000.
Electric vehicle fires can start when cars are parked or charging, which car safety experts say make them different and more shocking than other car fires. Companies are working on implementing a fix for defective batteries, but it's taking longer than owners would like.
Pink Energy, a solar energy company based out of Mooresville N.C. is laying off all of its employees according to an emailed letter sent to employees on Wednesday. Pink Energy has faced thousands of complaints ranging from faulty equipment to allegations of deceptive sales tactics over the past year.
More than 150 South Carolinians have reached out to the WBTV Investigates Team about their tax refunds or paychecks being garnished to offset unpaid medical debt at hospitals. More than one third of them said they received no advanced warning of the upcoming garnishment, as required by state law.
Pink Energy CEO Jayson Waller agreed to an interview with WBTV to lament that most of the problems at his company aren’t his fault, but caused by another company that supplies their batteries.
Tepper’s GT Real Estate filed a new reorganization plan that excludes the original offers for Rock Hill and York County. GT Real Estate claims the city and county have chosen difficult litigation and unreasonable demands instead.
The WBTV Investigation found the amount of bond money agreed to by Rock Hill was far more public investment than other similar projects and simultaneously sidestepped key oversight steps.
Chelley is special needs and is on the NC Innovations Waiver. It’s serviced by Mecklenburg County’s new managed care organization Alliance Health, which took over for Cardinal Innovations.
An analysis by the N.C. Watchdog Reporting Network of hundreds of fuel sample records from school buses with MaxxForce engines across the state shows that oil sample tests found elevated levels of fuel in the oil more than one third of the time.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman’s office has yet to pursue criminal charges in several complaints that elections investigators deemed worthy of criminal prosecution, including cases of voter fraud and campaign finance violations by an influential Raleigh CEO, newly obtained records show.
The city now claims, Tepper’s company repeatedly failed to provide key financial information that doomed the project and is asking a judge to find the company committed fraud.
The memo from City Attorney Patrick Baker said there is a criminal statute “that makes it illegal for a city to conduct business with a company of which a member of that city’s governing board owns more than 10% or that company.”
CATS operators and drivers tell WBTV the amount of broken buses is so great they often have to wait for a working bus to finish its route before they can start theirs.
The developer of the community maintains complete control of the HOA because of the community’s covenants and shows no signs of wanting to allow residents any more representation. The developer’s rights could last until 2039.
The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals stopped a state criminal investigation into North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein on Tuesday. The ruling comes one day after a Wake County grand jury signed off on the first of a two-part process to seek charges against Stein.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is facing a possible indictment after a grand jury approved prosecutors moving forward with a criminal investigation.
The injunction against tow truck driver David Satterfield was filed two years ago. Since then, he’s been sued, arrested, charged with stealing guns and money and labelled a habitual felon.
A new survey shows the average American isn’t saving enough for retirement and 37% aren’t saving at all. Consumer Investigator Rachel DePompa talks to an expert who weighs in with tips and why it’s never too late to start saving.
Most concerning for city leaders about the WBTV Investigation, is the hiring was made without any serious vetting from CATS leadership, despite contractual obligations that gives the city the ability to interview and approve senior leaders brought in by the company.
The Wake County District Attorney’s office pursued a criminal investigation into North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein despite a recommendation that the case be closed, according to a memo obtained by WBTV.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is investigating an arrest in which a sergeant with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office reportedly choked a man whose hands were cuffed behind his back. An SBI spokeswoman confirmed the investigation to WBTV on Thursday, days after our investigation first exposed the incident and its fallout.
In a news release, GT Real Estate said the new reorgnization plan would make $82 million available to pay off claims from contractors and York County. Another $20 million or more would be set aside for Rock Hill from the proceeds of the sale of the property.
The contractor, Chris Bradshaw and his company R-Cubed Charlotte Investment Group, which also goes by City View Terraces, were foreclosed on by the lender for the project. Court records show Bradshaw placed the winning bid at the foreclosure sale but failed to pay the money to secure the property.
Judge Kimberly Best got into a heated argument with a delivery driver in the parking garage at the Mecklenburg County courthouse last month, according to multiple law enforcement narratives of the incident completed by courthouse security guards and deputies with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.
A Lincoln County sheriff's deputy was fired after he reported a supervisor choking a suspect whose hands were cuffed behind his back. Agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation have been unable to investigate the whistleblower's report because the local district attorney will not authorize them to do so.
CATS buses are missing out on money, possibly millions of dollars, because of broken and malfunctioning fareboxes. A WBTV hidden-camera investigation found roughly half of the fareboxes used to punch tickets and collect money aren’t working properly. The numbers are backed up by riders and drivers who have told WBTV the problem has existed for months without a fix.
A popular herbicide ingredient some farmers say is vital to business has devastated other farms because of the chemical's ability to drift under certain conditions. Enforcing the rules is in the hands of states, but there is a growing concern over whether federal action needs to be taken.
Carter Lumber sued Bradshaw’s company saying they were owed nearly a million dollars in labor and material Bradshaw never paid. But in the three months since the property was transferred, the lawsuit has stayed stagnant, and now Hughes and Longarzo are negotiating with Carter.
The law at the center of a bizarre legal battle between Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman’s office and North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein was deemed virtually unenforceable several years ago by the state board of elections. Despite that, Freeman's office was minutes away from taking the case to a grand jury.
Kids often look for the latest fashions as they head back to school, but the cost of new clothes can quickly add up. In this Watching Your Wallet Consumer Investigator Rachel DePompa has suggestions for savings as you dress your child for the upcoming school year.
The interview comes as focus intensifies on what CATS, the CEO and the private contractor managing day-to-day operations of CATS bus division, is doing to improve the ongoing problems.
It’s a $60 billion a year industry that’s a relentless target for cybercriminals. According to a recent security report, web attacks against the global video game industry grew by 340 % in 2020. Consumer Investigator Rachel DePompa has the security advice you need before you, or your children, get hacked and it's game over.
The July 17 memo from Jones also mentions the contractor from the WBTV Investigation, RATP Dev, several times and says they will be part of the review process. The city manager told council he directed his staff to prepare a “request for proposals” for the bus operations service contract currently held by RATP Dev.
The WBTV Investigates team is continuing to reveal how medical debt is impacting people across the Charlotte area. Durham’s situation raises new questions about hospitals’ responsibility to provide charity care for people who are stuck with years old unpaid bills.
For weeks, Charlotte's transit service, CATS, has claimed its bus service would be impacted by a high number of unexpected driver absences. But internal CATS records show the actual number of unplanned driver absences are far lower than what the transit service has claimed.
WBTV began investigating the bus system after months of problems plagued CATS operations: two shootings, dozens of daily driver absences, buses that don’t show up on schedule and other trips that are never made at all. The lack of clarity among city leaders on who was controlling the bus system’s operations changed after WBTV started asking questions for this story in June.
The City of Charlotte and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have each faced sanctions in federal court in recent months over their failure to produce documents and other evidence in ongoing civil lawsuits. In one instance, a judge ruled that the city destroyed evidence.
Despite the dozens of warnings, the tale of Water Resources, Inc. highlights the consequences a slow-moving bureaucracy can have on the well-being of North Carolinians. Residents in these communities are calling on NCDEQ, NCUC, NCDOJ and, to some extent, the Office of the Governor to finally hold the utility accountable but have serious doubts because of their lack of action so far.
When a Charlotte man tested positive for COVID-19 the morning of his flight, he didn’t think twice before making the choice to quarantine and reschedule his travels.
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