Ari J. Lauer, a 61-year-old attorney from Lafayette, was sentenced on Mar. 9 to 11 years and five months in prison for his involvement in the DC Solar Ponzi scheme, according to U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd and U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
The sentencing marks a significant development in what authorities describe as the largest criminal fraud case ever prosecuted in the Eastern District of California. The case involved hundreds of millions of dollars and affected numerous investors who were misled about the legitimacy and profitability of DC Solar’s business operations.
Lauer served as outside counsel to DC Solar from around 2009 until January 2019, providing legal and business advice that prosecutors say lent credibility to the fraudulent operation. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, multiple counts of bank fraud, and wire fraud affecting a financial institution.
“Without the participation of Lauer, the DC Solar fraud scheme would never have been operational. Lauer used his skill as a corporate lawyer to execute a sophisticated tax scheme that enabled the largest criminal fraud in the history of the Eastern District of California,” said U.S. Attorney Grant. “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. Today’s sentence demonstrates that sophisticated fraud will be met with serious consequences.”
FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said: “Ari Lauer intentionally used his position as an attorney to provide the illusion of legitimacy to DC Solar’s fraudulent scheme. He hid uncomfortable truths behind claims of confidentiality while profiting from the arrangement and mistakenly assumed that law enforcement would not catch on.”
Linda Nguyen, Special Agent in Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office added: “Mr. Lauer’s sentence reflects the extensive harm caused by DC Solar’s long‑running fraud scheme, which deceived investors, disrupted the clean‑energy market, and left real victims in its wake.” FDIC OIG Special Agent Ryan Korner also commented: “Mr. Lauer and his co-defendants abused the system and victimized investors to enrich themselves.”
Court documents show that between 2011 and 2018, DC Solar manufactured mobile solar generators but misrepresented their use and market demand while using new investor funds to pay existing obligations—a hallmark of Ponzi schemes. The company closed transactions totaling more than $912 million involving approximately 17,000 generators valued at about $2.5 billion.
Other defendants received sentences ranging from three years up to thirty years in prison; one defendant is awaiting sentencing scheduled for April 2026.
The investigation was conducted by FBI, IRS-CI, and FDIC OIG with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath and Nicholas M. Fogg.
