Pleasant Hill Man Gets 6.5 Years in $1B DC Solar Scam

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Ryan Guidry, 45, of Pleasant Hill, is trading his California sunshine for six years and six months of federal prison time. Guidry was sentenced today for his participation in the massive, billion-dollar Ponzi scheme perpetrated by DC Solar, a company that promised green energy solutions but delivered only deceit. U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced the sentence, along with a hefty $619,415,950 restitution order – a small slice of the total fraud, but a substantial personal debt for Guidry.

Guidry pleaded guilty back on January 14, 2020, to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and aiding and abetting money laundering. The scheme, operating between 2011 and 2018, revolved around DC Solar’s manufacturing of mobile solar generator units (MSGs) – trailers boasting emergency power capabilities for cellphone towers and events. The Carpoffs, Jeff, 52, and Paulette, 49, both of Martinez, sold investors on the promise of lucrative federal tax benefits, all while building a house of cards on fabricated financial statements and nonexistent generators. They sold more units than they actually built – a staggering 9,000 of the 17,000 claimed were pure fantasy – using new investor money to pay off earlier ones, the classic hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.

Court documents reveal Guidry wasn’t just a bystander. He climbed the ranks at DC Solar, becoming Vice President of Operations by 2015, and fully understood the fraudulent nature of the business. He personally pocketed $1 million from defrauded investors for a false lease contract signature and split another $20,000 with Alan Hansen, 51, of Vacaville – a telecom employee – for forging a signature on a related agreement. Guidry actively participated in the deception, creating fictitious spreadsheets detailing MSG locations and orchestrating the last-minute movement of actual generators to these sites right before investor inspections, a cynical attempt to create the illusion of legitimacy.

The brazenness of the scheme continued in 2017 and 2018. With production stalled, Guidry, alongside Jeff Carpoff and others, resorted to swapping VIN stickers on existing generators, applying new numbers to trick inspectors into believing they were examining the units tied to the current transaction. This VIN switching, carried out in warehouses in Benicia and Las Vegas, was a desperate measure to keep the charade going. It didn’t work. The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the FDIC Office of Inspector General eventually unraveled the entire operation.

Guidry is just the latest domino to fall in this sprawling case. Jeff Carpoff received a 30-year sentence and $790.6 million in restitution on November 9, 2021. Paulette Carpoff got 11 years and three months, and $790.6 million in restitution on June 28, 2022. Joseph W. Bayliss, 47, of Martinez, received three years and $481.3 million in restitution. Robert A. Karmann, 56, of Clayton, received six years and $624 million in restitution. Alan Hansen was sentenced to eight years. And Ronald J. Roach, 55, of Walnut Creek, has pleaded guilty to criminal offenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher S. Hales and Kevin C. Khasigian prosecuted the case, ensuring that at least some measure of justice is served for the countless investors swindled by DC Solar. While Guidry’s 6.5-year sentence is significant, it’s a stark reminder that even those operating in the shadows of a billion-dollar fraud can be brought to account – though recovering the stolen funds remains a monumental task.

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