Guilty plea in Northern California Ponzi scheme that fooled Warren Buffett, NASCAR drivers
DC Solar, a Benicia company that made solar-powered mobile generators, ran one of the largest and most audacious Ponzi schemes in Northern California history a $1 billion ripoff that took in the likes of paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams, two NASCAR drivers and a coast-to-coast collection of banks.
This week a seventh defendant pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, admitting he signed fraudulent documents to get a telecommunications company to invest in DC Solar.
Alan Hansen, 49, of Vacaville, a onetime employee of DC Solar, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aiding-and-abetting charges Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. He faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing Nov. 3 before Judge John A. Mendez.
DC Solar was the brainchild of Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, a Martinez couple that pleaded guilty in January and awaits sentencing. Starting in 2009, they began making mobile generators and reaching out to investors. DC Solar was pitched to investors mainly as a tax shelter: By investing in solar-powered products, they could reap major benefits through a provision in the federal tax code designed to spur green energy.
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