Irvine man who scammed $9.5 million in solar power program gets 6 years in prison – Orange County Register

An Irvine man swindled $9.5 million from investors in a solar fraud scheme to pay for his lavish lifestyle, which included a 46-metre yacht and two yachts. Maseratis, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on Friday, February 18.

Michael James Sweaney, 58, of Irvine, used deceptive sales tactics to convince people to invest money in his company, Nanotech Engineering Inc., the Justice Department said in a statement. Sweaney and his sales force tell their victims that his company has created a compact – nonexistent “Nanopanel” – with technology that can generate three times more electricity than traditional solar panels, officials said.

Sweaney said he would use their money to manufacture Nanopanels, but instead he uses it to fund his lifestyle, which includes gold Cartier watches and plastic surgery, the Justice Department said.

He pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in April 2021. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Sweaney was also ordered to pay $9.7 million in compensation. Prosecutors said he agreed to seize the yacht, car, watch and about $1.5 million that investigators seized.

The plan includes investors who were told Nanopanels would take over the solar industry, court filings show. Sweaney, who prosecutors said was previously convicted of securities fraud in Nevada, used a different surname, according to a news release.

While the Nanopanel never actually existed, Sweaney and his grandson created a mock prototype to show off to their investors, records show. At one point, they hired an actor to “prove” the Nanopanel outperforming a typical solar panel in the video.

There is a Nanotechnology Engineering facility in Irvine and another in Colorado where the grandson, David Wayne Sweaney, 42, of Fort Collins, lives. The grandson helped use $300,000 in used solar panel manufacturing equipment to arrange for at least two potential investors to visit the Colorado facility, the Justice Department said. know.

“We needed to spend a LOT of CASH, we needed the equipment INSTANTLY in the warehouse, didn’t have it JAIL, and it was no joke, no equipment and use of the EQUALS JAIL investment fund, though Of course spending money on equipment WILL SET US FOR FREE,” Sweaney wrote in a 2018 email to his grandson.

David Sweaney also pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in September 2020. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.