The Daily Mail
- Denton Peng, CEO of SPI Energy, has positioned himself as a leading light in America’s solar boom and hopes to cash in on taxpayer funding for his projects
- But a lawsuit claims he agreed to provide more than $1million to fund an illegal marijuana operation where Chinese workers were abused by armed guards
Chinese millionaire who owns America’s second largest solar plant has been accused of funding an illegal cannabis operation that treated workers ‘like animals’, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Denton Peng agreed to plow more than $1million into a network of weed farms in New Mexico that trafficked up to 2,000 migrant workers, forcing them to work 14-hour days in ‘horrific’ conditions, according to a lawsuit filed in Santa Fe County.
It comes six years after the entrepreneur, now thought to live in California, abandoned his home country following the collapse of his solar business – a debacle that ended with Peng being placed on Beijing‘s most-wanted list amid accusations of fraud, the complaint alleges.
There is no indication that the 49-year-old, also known as Xiaofeng Peng, is under investigation by US authorities.
But the allegations may spark concerns among those who have green lit his investments in US solar power – an industry in which Peng is set to cash in on taxpayer dollars designed to boost American green energy.
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