A disbarred lawyer who helped run a $1 billion solar energy scam that snagged investors as sophisticated as Warren Buffett should serve nearly 25 years in prison, federal prosecutors in Sacramento say.
Ari Lauer is set to be sentenced Monday for assisting high-flying East Bay fraudsters Jeff and Paulette Carpoff and their company, DC Solar, pull off what the government says amounted to the largest criminal fraud scheme ever within the sprawling federal court district that includes Sacramento.
Lauer pleaded guilty in October to 23 counts of fraud. He was the last of eight defendants to admit guilt in the scheme, which involved selling phony investments in solar generators to companies and prominent individuals, as well as a tax fraud scheme through the Benicia-based company…