One of the owners of a California solar energy company was sentenced to 30 years in prison for engaging in a $1 billion Ponzi scheme that fooled investors like Berkshire Hathaway and Sherwin-Williams. The company built mobile solar generators, which investors purchased at a reduced cost. The company then leased the generators to end-users to pay down the remainder and any profit would go to the investors. Except the generators weren’t leased, and investors were paid from money coming in from new investors. The company owners acquired a baseball team, the ubiquitous stable of 150 classic cars, and threw a holiday party headlined by Pitbull. A former employee tipped off federal authorities that the company was lying about the number of leased units it had. The feds have since auctioned off 148 of the vehicles, including the 1978 Firebird previously owned by Burt Reynolds. (www.yahoo.com/news/california-man-gets-30-years-005549058.html)
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