DC Solar execs plead guilty to ‘biggest fraud’ seen in California district

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
DC Solar's troubles with the FBI saw a large car collection reportedly owned by the firm's founder and his family auctioned in late October (Image credit: Office of Public Affairs / Flickr)

The executives behind a high-profile US solar scandal from recent years could spend decades in prison, after admitting to defrauding investors under a Ponzi-style scheme.

The owners of now-bankrupt firm DC Solar have now pleaded guilty to various criminal charges after a still-ongoing government case accused them of “duping” investors of some US$1 billion, supposedly used later to bankroll a “lavish” style.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

In a statement last Friday, the US Attorney’s Office said Jeff Carpoff has admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, while his spouse Paulette Carpoff admitted to a conspiracy to commit an offense against the US and money laundering.

The duo, prosecutors said, “wove a web of lies and deceit” as they used their firm – a maker of mobile PV generators and light towers – to defraud investors on a “massive” scale. The government regards the case as the “biggest criminal fraud scheme” ever seen in California’s Eastern District.

In line with other Ponzi-style frauds, the DC Solar scheme is thought by the government to have worked by using new investor money to pay old investor money. According to the US Attorney’s Office, the firm convinced investors to sponsor solar generators whose existence was fabricated.

DC Solar, the Office said, “concealed the fraud” by creating false financial statements and lease contracts for the generators. All in all, nearly half of the approximately 17,000 units DC Solar claimed to have produced while still operational did not actually exist, the government now believes.

The new guilty pleas emerge eight months after reports listed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway among DC Solar’s fraud victims. Last May, the conglomerate revealed having to pay a US$377 million charge after investing in a firm it eventually identified as DC Solar.

Carpoff duo face sentencing in May as probe remains open

As the US Attorney’s Office noted last Friday, Jeff Carpoff and Paulette Carpoff respectively face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 and 15 years, but the ultimate prison terms will be decided by the court. Sentencing is slated for 19 May.

In the meantime, the overall fraud case remains ongoing. Four other people – Joseph W. Bayliss, Ronald J. Roach, Robert A. Karmann, Ryan Guidry – issued guilty pleas prior to the Carpoffs. A seventh, unidentified individual is expected to follow suit on 11 February, the statement said.

In parallel, the investigation is working to retrieve the funds DC Solar is thought to have defrauded to investors but also the US government. The probe has returned US$500 million to the US Treasury to date and seized an extra US$120 million in assets, now being sold to reimburse victims.

The US$120 million trove – including the Carpoffs’ 140-plus luxury cars, a private jet service, real estate and jewellery – is being billed by prosecutors as the largest ever criminal forfeiture in the history of California’s Eastern District.

Auctions held to date include a session last October to offload the DC Solar owners’ car collection, which the government says has helped return US$8.23 million to the fraud victims. Last December, bidders competed for 700-plus of the firm’s mobile solar generators.

Both court-ordered auctions are meant to help liquidate the assets of DC Solar, which filed for bankruptcy last February as FBI investigation affidavits followed the Bureau’s freezing of bank accounts and office raids two months prior.

The proceedings were initially structured as a Chapter 11 event – a softer modality allowing firms a chance to rearrange their debt and bounce back – but had by March 2019 devolved into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, where the goal is a final liquidation via asset sales to creditors.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
PV Talk: Smart Energy Council's Nigel Morris reflects on how Australia has become a global testbed for distributed solar and storage innovation.
October 8, 2025
Officials from Norway and Egypt have agreed provisional terms for the financing of the Dandara solar park in Egypt, which is being built and operated by Norwegian IPP Scatec.
October 8, 2025
Saatvik Green Energy has secured new solar PV module orders worth more than INR7 billion (US$84 million), to be delivered in this financial year.
October 8, 2025
Australia's NEM achieved a new minimum operational demand record of 9,666MW, marking a 4% decrease from the previous record.
October 8, 2025
Frontier Energy plans to expand its Waroona Renewable Energy Project into a renewable energy precinct by 2031, targeting up to 1GW solar.
October 7, 2025
Econergy will acquire 100% stake in the 155MW Ratesti solar project in Romania, further expanding its European renewable energy portfolio.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK