FILE: An electric car is plugged into the DC Solar charging station prior to the Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on March 5, 2016, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas.

A Lafayette attorney who helped legitimize a massive solar investment scheme was sentenced Monday to more than 11 years in federal prison, closing another chapter in what prosecutors have described as the largest criminal fraud case prosecuted in California’s Eastern District. 

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Ari J. Lauer, 61, to 11 years and five months in prison for his role in the DC Solar fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. The California State Bar placed Lauer on “involuntary inactive status” on Dec. 19, 2025, following his conviction.

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“Without the participation of Lauer, the DC Solar fraud scheme would never have been operational,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in a statement. “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.”

One week before his trial was set to begin, on Oct. 14, 2025, Lauer pleaded guilty to........

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