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California electrician ordered to pay $481 million for scam

Joseph Bayliss of Martinez was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison on top of the restitution.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2019, file photo, McGregor Scott, who was then the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, looks over a 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 displayed in Sacramento, Calif., that was among the vehicles seized by the federal government to be auctioned off. The cars belonged to Jeff and Paulette Carpoff, owners of a San Francisco Bay Area solar energy company that pleaded guilty for participating in what federal prosecutors called a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of $1 billion. Jeff Carpoff, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California electrician has been ordered to pay $481.3 million in restitution as part of his sentence for participating in a $1 billion Ponzi scheme.

Joseph Bayliss of Martinez was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison on top of the restitution. He was hired by Benicia-based DC Solar to pose as a licensed engineer to inspect new mobile solar generator units that were mounted on trailers.

Prosecutors say Bayliss played a key role in covering up the fact that no new generators were being built. They say he knew his statements were false and would be used to defraud investors. For this, he was paid about $1 million.

Read the full AP story here.

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