A judge has ordered a Lakewood-based solar company to stop selling solar energy systems, according to state attorney general Cynthia Coffman.

Coffman says Guaranteed Solar and its “predecessor company,” Innersol Global, “scammed” 15 Colorado consumers out of $450,000.

She alleges the companies “sold expensive solar energy systems to residential consumers and then kept the consumer’s money without delivering the systems.” Both companies were operated by Kevin Murphy Ryder, 49, according to Coffman.

Ryder allegedly pitched the solar energy systems to his customers as an investment and “convinced them to take out home equity loans to pay for the systems,” according to Coffman’s office. “After paying for these systems, consumers heard months of excuses from Guaranteed Solar, while Ryder spent the money on his own lavish lifestyle before abandoning the company.”

The AG urges consumers to ask for customer referrals and research companies’ prior history before taking on expensive projects and investments.

Coffman also filed a 13-count criminal grand jury indictment against Kevin Ryder on accusations of securities fraud in June 2016, according to her office. That indictment alleges that Ryder “convinced 12 Colorado residents to invest in his debt management services company, Complete Capital Services, LLC, through unregistered securities sold by Ryder’s financial planning company, Acceleration Financial Services, LLC.”

He promised 20 percent annual returns but never delivered, according to Coffman. The investors lost a total of $800,000, including one widow’s entire retirement savings of close to $300,000, Coffman reported.

Ryder is believed to be living in California and there is a warrant out for his arrest, according to Coffman’s office. Anyone with information can call the Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Section at 720-508-6707.