Jeff Carpoff

What the public record shows

Jeff Carpoff, 50, of Martinez, California, founded and owned DC Solar, a Benicia, California company that manufactured mobile solar generator units. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with $790.6 million in restitution. Prosecutors called it the biggest criminal fraud scheme in the history of the Eastern District of California. This is a criminal conviction — not an allegation.

The scheme

According to the Department of Justice, from 2011 to 2018, DC Solar raised more than $910 million from investors who were drawn in largely by lucrative federal solar tax credits attached to the generators. The arrangement used a circular payment structure: investors bought units, DC Solar “leased” them back and claimed to sublease them to third parties — but there was very little genuine third-party rental demand. New investor money was used to keep paying earlier investors. Eventually, Carpoff and his co-conspirators stopped manufacturing generators altogether and simply sold thousands of units to investors that never existed.

Multiple co-conspirators were also convicted, including DC Solar’s attorney (sentenced to over 11 years — his role “gave the scheme legitimacy and diminished any suspicion” investors might otherwise have had), its CFO, and its accountant.

Why we rate this 1 / 10 — Avoid

A 30-year sentence and nearly $800 million in restitution — one of the largest fraud cases in U.S. history. It shows how a legitimate-sounding tax incentive (real federal solar credits) can be used to launder credibility onto an entirely fabricated business.

Red flags this case teaches

• A tax benefit is not proof the underlying business is real. Verify the actual physical assets (here: solar generators), not just the tax paperwork attached to them.
• Professional advisors lending their name (attorneys, CFOs, accountants) can create false comfort — their involvement is not independent verification unless they’re actually acting as an outside check, not part of the promotion.
• Circular leasing arrangements — where the seller also manages the “rental” — hide the absence of real third-party demand.

Bottom line

Convicted and serving 30 years. Confirm the physical assets behind any equipment- leasing or tax-credit investment actually exist and are earning independent, verifiable revenue — not revenue generated by the seller itself.

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