Catchfence

Ken Weaver had a problem with his past. A decade of scheming, stealing and prison made for many inconvenient truths. So by the time Texas licensed him to provide phone and electric service, he had constructed a heroic history.

The college dropout from Duncanville became a dual-degreed university graduate and varsity football legend. The carpenter was transformed into a corporate vice president who developed resorts in Brazil.

The fake pedigree, as well as state inattention, allowed Weaver into the lucrative deregulated utilities market. He was one of a breed of entrepreneurs who saw opportunity in selling expensive electricity to people living on the economic edge.

For some, the consequences were painful.

Weaver’s Freedom Power developed a track record of cutting power to customers in midsummer, despite a state-imposed moratorium on cutoffs during a heat emergency. It also compiled the highest rate of consumer complaints in Texas and one of the highest rates of rule violations of any electricity provider in the state.

- The Dallas Morning News