{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Nickel & Crime","title":"Sun Burned: A Bold, Brash, Billion Dollar Solar Company Ponzi Scheme","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1658,"description":"How do you con some of the world’s biggest companies for almost a billion dollars? Sell them on a novel renewable energy idea, promise impossibly good tax credits, and use investors millions to keep up appearances. Does it matter if the product works…or even exists? Not really.In this episode, we dive into the unbelievable true story of a down-and-out mechanic who master-minded a billion-dollar fraud. Back in 2008, Jeff Carpoff, a man with a past that precedes him, had just lost his shady car parts business. But after a short stint selling solar panels, he came up with something that would shake up the renewables industry: a mobile solar generator. With a clever but poorly engineered prototype, a bit of fast talk, and a lot of liberty with tax credits, DC Solar was born. Jeff’s rough solar panel design would morph into a rapidly growing, million-dollar deal machine…with a lot of tracks to cover up.Join us for a tale of wire fraud, money laundering, and a well-crafted Ponzi scheme. It’s the story of a slippery guy who loved NASCAR, chewing tobacco, and gas-guzzling cars; the guy who sauntered through his office with shopping bags stuffed with cash, as he built a massive new factory for products that weren’t actually being manufactured. The same guy who found his way into the hip and burgeoning world of clean energy, where things got very, very messy.About the ShowNickel & Crime takes you deep inside the true stories of the shocking scams that white collar criminals almost got away with. At a time when fraud is on the rise, and financial crime is increasingly sophisticated, go behind the investigations to understand the victims, the criminal minds at work, and the risk. In season 2, Nickel & Crime returns with mind-blowing new crimes, and immersive, stirring details. Each episode dives into the victims, the set-up, the sting, and that bold blunder that unraveled it all.  Hear about a billion-dollar tax fraud that sucked in some of the world’s most savvy investors,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/brwa8V1hIwI5N-uGbrUxUISFMsQe_6QPTcjZ8x069x4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mZDNl/ZjkzOWQ0NmQ4Yzdj/YzMyMmY5ZTQzZTkx/ODRiOS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}