St. Joseph business owner pleads guilty to $1.4M fraud scheme

A St. Joseph business owner pleaded guilty in federal court this week to his role in a nearly $1.4 million fraud scheme that involved state and federal solar panel rebates.

The owner of US Solar, Richard Schonemann sold and installed solar-powered panels in northwest Missouri to businesses and home owners.

According to the Kansas City Business Journal, Schonemann and a co-conspirator fraudulently obtained state rebates through Kansas City Power & Light by lying about the amount of solar panels they installed. They also submitted false usage reports to the federal government and obtained federal rebates by forging leasing contracts.

Read more from the Kansas City Business Journal.