US: Woman jailed for 11 years for leading nearly $1 billion solar scam

51-year-old led pyramid scheme with husband, scamming 17 investors

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By AFP

Published: Wed 29 Jun 2022, 8:45 AM

A woman who together with her husband ran a nearly $1 billion solar investment scam has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, justice officials in California said Tuesday.

Paulette Carpoff, 51, had led a vast pyramid scheme with her husband Jeff between 2011 and 2018, attracting almost 20 investors who thought they were financing the development of solar generators.

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The couple pleaded guilty in 2020 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and Jeff Carpoff was sentenced the following year to 30 years in prison.

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The couple had raised $910 million from 17 investors, but of the 17,000 devices they claimed to have made, at least half did not exist.

Jeff and Paulette Carpoff had kept at least $140 million for their own use, with which they bought jewellery, 148 cars — including actor Burt Reynolds’ 1978 Firebird — a baseball team, and luxury real estate.

AFP

Published: Wed 29 Jun 2022, 8:45 AM

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