Bay Area man sentenced for role in Ponzi scheme that netted nearly $1 billion

"Without the participation of Lauer, the DC Solar fraud scheme would never have been operational. As the only attorney involved, he should have been the first person to recognize the fraud and stop it. Instead, he was the last person to accept responsibility, only doing so on the eve of trial."

"Prosecutors said Lauer served as outside counsel for DC Solar from roughly 2009 to January 2019, using his skills as a corporate lawyer to advise the company on legal and business matters while helping it execute a sophisticated tax scheme that raised hundreds of millions of dollars."

"Martinez residents Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, and their associates, marketed DC Solar mobile solar generators mounted on trailers and promoted them as environmentally friendly power sources used for cellphone towers and lighting at sporting events. Investors were drawn in part by lucrative federal tax credits tied to solar energy projects."

Ari J. Lauer, a 61-year-old attorney, was sentenced to 11 years and five months in federal prison for his role in the DC Solar fraud scheme, described as California's Eastern District's largest criminal fraud case. Lauer served as outside counsel for DC Solar from 2009 to January 2019, using his legal expertise to facilitate a sophisticated tax scheme that raised hundreds of millions of dollars. The scheme involved marketing mobile solar generators as environmentally friendly power sources while exploiting federal tax credits. Lauer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, 12 counts of bank fraud, and 10 counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors emphasized that without Lauer's participation, the fraud operation would not have functioned, and he should have recognized and stopped the scheme rather than enabling it.

Read at SFGATE