CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF - SAN DIEGO - Man Charged in Alleged Ponzi Scam

A San Diego man was charged in a 15-count indictment with operating a “ponzi scheme” to defraud investors in his solar power companies. Ernest P. Lampert was charged with mail fraud in a scheme that promised investors federal income tax credits and growing income from the sale of electricity and thermal energy created by his companies. The indictment charges that Lampert used funds from new investors in United Energy Corp., United Financial Corp. and Renewable Power Corp. to pay off earlier investors, “constituting a ponzi scheme.”