Cows on a Tulare County farm collecting their manure to put in an anaerobic digester that captures methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
Ray Brewer claimed he could convert cow dung into green energy and raised millions of dollars from investors hoping to cash in. Federal prosecutors say it was all a pile of, well, cow dung.
The Porterville, California man was sentenced Monday to six years and nine months in federal prison for running a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.
Brewer, 66, lured investors with fake bank agreements and contracts and manipulated photos making it appear that he was building anaerobic digesters on dairy farms across California, prosecutors said. The digesters, large machines that break down biodegradable material and turn it into methane, were to be built on farms in Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Brewer also took investors on tours of dairies where he would allegedly build the fermenters.
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Investors assumed they would receive 66% of all profits plus tax incentives from the bogus deal. They assumed the company would be able to sell green energy, as well as renewable energy credits, to other companies trying to meet green energy legislation.
At times, Brewer sent investors bogus agreements that made it appear he had received millions in loans and investments to build the fermenters. He also sent fake pictures allegedly showing the fermenters under construction.
It was all bullshit.
Instead, the US Department of Justice found that Brewer had transferred millions of dollars to bank accounts he controlled through various companies, family members and an alias.
According to prosecutors, Brewer maintained the plan from March 2014 to December 2019, stealing $8,750,000 from investors.
He used the money to buy two lots, a 4,000-square-foot home, and Dodge Ram pickups.
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The story goes on
Some investors received refunds of some or all of their investments before agents from the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, and the Social Security Administration inspector general took notice. However, authorities said those refunds came from unsuspecting new investors pouring money into the Ponzi scheme.
Investors filed civil lawsuits against Brewer, and when they realized it was all a fraud scheme, Brewer changed his name and moved to Montana.
Federal officials said the lies continued after he left California.
“Upon his arrest, Brewer told officers they had the wrong man,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “He also claimed to have been in the Navy and recalled how he once saved several soldiers during a fire by blocking the flames with his body so they could escape. Brewer has since admitted these were both lies meant to ingratiate himself with law enforcement.”
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.