Who were the victims of a £17m solar scheme?

Today a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found six men guilty of running a £17m fraudulent scheme to install solar panels which defrauded 1,500 victims including elderly, retired and vulnerable people.

Did DC Solar defraud the American people?

Over eight years, in at least 34 deals, DC Solar had defrauded more than a dozen corporate customers out of almost $1 billion. Because those corporations had used the investment tax credit to deduct roughly that entire sum from their taxes, DC Solar had effectively robbed the American people.

Would DC Solar defraud new buyers?

DC Solar wouldn’t just defraud new buyers to pay earlier ones. By holding itself out as a legitimate solar company, it would give all of them—new and old—cover to drain millions of dollars of tax credits from the U.S. Treasury. The American taxpayer, that is, would subsidize the scam.

What could the carpoffs do if DC Solar went bankrupt?

The Carpoffs had options, even if they weren’t ideal. They could close DC Solar. Or they could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, hoping that creditors would see enough worth saving to let the company reorganize. Or maybe there was another way.

Is DC Solar a Ponzi scheme?

The plan had many of the hallmarks of a classic Ponzi scheme, but with a twist. DC Solar wouldn’t just defraud new buyers to pay earlier ones. By holding itself out as a legitimate solar company, it would give all of them—new and old—cover to drain millions of dollars of tax credits from the U.S. Treasury.

Are some solar companies pulling out of the market?

And some players have pulled out of the market, like SoftBank (9984.T), which sold its solar portfolio to Adani for $3.5 billion in 2021, and Finland's Fortum (FORTUM.HE). These problems could yet return, though – and the built-in delays between being commissioned and finding buyers remain.