DC Solar

DC Solar Solutions Inc., trading as DC Solar, was a Californian solar power supplier company. The company was shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2018 after it turned out to be a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.[1][2][3]

DC Solar
Private company
IndustryRenewable energy, Photovoltaics industry
Founded2008 (2008)
FounderJeffrey Carpoff
Defunct2018 (2018)
Headquarters
Benicia, California, United States
ProductsPhotovoltaic modules, Photovoltaic systems
Websitehttp://www.dcsolarsolutionsmfg.com (Wayback Machine)

Company history

The company was founded in 2008 in Concord, California, by Jeffrey Carpoff, an auto mechanic.[4][5] Berkshire Hathaway invested $340 million in the company.[6] The company supplied solar panels to California State University[7] and various NASCAR tracks;[8][9] it also sponsored Chip Ganassi Racing and several races in the NASCAR calendar in 2018.[10]

The company was raided by the FBI in December 2018 amidst allegations of Ponzi scheme associated with the company,[11] and the company later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[4] According to the FBI and a later SEC investigation, it was alleged that Carpoff and his wife, Paulette, promised 17 investors between 2011 and 2018 federal solar tax credits, lease payments, and profits, but instead spent lavishly on properties, jets, jewelry, a semi-professional baseball team (Martinez Clippers), and sponsorship deals for Chip Ganassi Racing and various NASCAR races. Meanwhile, majority of the lease revenue were being paid from new investors, and as many as three-quarters of the mobile solar generators the company claimed to have built never existed. GPS trackers purportedly attached to deployed units to verify their locations were buried instead to make it appear that the units were operational and where they were supposed to be.[3][12][13]

In 2019, federal authorities auctioned a car collection they amassed of more than 150 classic and contemporary cars.[14] The raid prompted Chip Ganassi Racing to shut down their NASCAR Xfinity Series team.[15] The Carpoffs pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in January 2020, forfeiting $120 million in assets. Four other business partners pled guilty to crimes.[16]

References
  1. Cahill, Nick (October 23, 2019). "Two Plead Guilty in Solar Energy Ponzi Scheme". Courthouse News Service.
  2. Roselund, Christian (May 28, 2019). "DC Solar gets liquidated". pv magazine USA.
  3. Stanton, Sam (October 22, 2019). "Two enter guilty pleas in what federal prosecutors call $2.5 billion Ponzi scheme". The Sacramento Bee.
  4. Weilenman, Donna Beth (February 6, 2019). "DC Solar files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, court papers show multi-million dollar debt". Martinez News-Gazette. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  5. Eckhouse, Brian; Chiglinsky, Katherine; Chediak, Mark (June 4, 2019). "DC Solar scammers serve as cautionary tale for solar investors". Renewable Energy World. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  6. Cao, Sissi (May 10, 2019). "Warren Buffett Was Scammed Out of $340 Million in a Ponzi Scheme". The New York Observer. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  7. "CSUN Partners with DC Solar Freedom to Bring Off-Grid Solar Power to Campus at No Cost". CSUN Today. California State University. April 21, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  8. Stern, Adam (April 16, 2018). "DC Solar expanding to more SMI, ISC tracks". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  9. "Solar operation accused in $800M fraud scheme lists Kansas Speedway as a creditor". Kansas City Business Journal. American City Business Journals. June 10, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  10. JohnWallStreet (January 27, 2020). "NASCAR, Chip Ganassi Racing Duped In Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme, Affiliation Unlikely to Leave Stain on Sport". Sports Illustrated.
  11. Barnard, Cornell (December 22, 2018). "FBI raids East Bay solar company Headquarters, CEO's home searched". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  12. Weilenman, Donna Beth (February 27, 2019). "FBI agent suggests DC Solar operations 'Ponzi Scheme'". Martinez News-Gazette. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  13. "Owners of solar company that caused loss for Buffett plead guilty over Ponzi scheme". Reuters. January 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  14. Gastelu, Gary (October 17, 2019). "Massive car collection seized from owners of bankrupt DC Solar up for auction". Fox News.
  15. Utter, Jim (January 5, 2019). "Chip Ganassi Racing shuts down Xfinity program for 2019". Motorsport.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  16. "California couple pleads guilty to plotting $1B Ponzi scheme". AP NEWS. Retrieved 27 January 2020. Prosecutors alleged that the company engaged in $2.5 billion in investment transactions between 2011 and 2018, costing investors $1 billion. Among the investors was Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which lost some $340 million.
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