Former Solano County executive sentenced to federal prison over Ponzi scheme
Robert Karmann was one of several individuals who bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars, federal prosecutors said.
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A man who worked as an executive for a Solano County-based solar firm was sentenced to six years in prison this week after pleading guilty to participating in a Ponzi scheme that conned investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
In a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, prosecutors said 55-year-old Robert Karmann received a six-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay more than $620 million in restitution for his role in the billion-dollar investment scam.
The scheme involved a Benicia-based company called DC Solar, where Karmann first worked as a certified public accountant before being promoted to the role of chief financial officer. There, prosecutors say Karmann and two other individuals sold mobile solar generators to third parties by falsely leading the purchasers to believe that there was a significant rental market for the product.
Prosecutors said the demand for mobile solar generators was “virtually non-existent.” To make matters worse, DC Solar accepted investment money from various individuals and companies, repaying them with new investment money that was “designed to look like real third-party lease revenue,” prosecutors said.
Karmann and two others at the company created false financial reports in an attempt to cover up their tracks and raise new investment revenue, prosecutors claimed. Their victims included Warren Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway among others.
The company eventually stopped making generators, and around 17,000 generators that were said to be in service did not actually exist, prosecutors said.
Karmann, who lives in the Bay Area community of Clayton, was arrested and charged in 2019. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors shortly after his arrest, according to court documents reviewed by Solano NewsNet.
Though Kaumann received a six-year prison sentence, he will likely serve less time in federal custody if he accrues good conduct credits and participates in eligible rehabilitation programming. It was not immediately known where he will be incarcerated.
Several other defendants have also entered guilty pleas in connection with the case, including 50-year-old Alan Henson of Vacaville, who is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
DC Solar’s chief executive Jeff Carpoff was sentenced last year to serve 30 years in federal prison and pay more than $790 million in restitution for his role in the scheme. His wife, 47-year-old Paulette Carpoff, also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month.
Prosecutors say the Carpoffs used investment money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included the purchase of more than 30 homes and other properties, a semi-professional baseball team, a personal suite at a football stadium in Las Vegas and more than 150 luxury cars.
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