Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Finance, funds and markets · United States · 2011–2021

Mantria and DC Solar: two US investment schemes sold on carbon-negative housing, biochar and solar generators

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
54.5 million US dollars were raised in my name. No one has measured what reached me.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 not measured See the gaps

Mantria raised $54.5m from investors on a carbon-negative housing and biochar offer; its founder was sentenced to 22 years in August 2019. DC Solar sold mobile solar generators, many of which did not exist, in a scheme of about $1bn; its owner was sentenced to 30 years in November 2021.

$54.5mRaised from investors by Mantria on a carbon-negative housing and biochar offer
DC Solar's scheme is given as about $1bn (2011–2018, pv magazine).

Status As of October 2026: sentences are on record for Mantria (2019) and DC Solar (2021); no appeal outcome is recorded in the sources reviewed.

What?
Two investment schemes sold on green offers: carbon-negative housing and biochar (Mantria) and tax-credit-driven mobile solar generators, many of which did not exist (DC Solar). US Securities and Exchange Commission
Where?
United States. US Securities and Exchange Commission
When?
Mantria: sentences from August 2019. DC Solar: 2011 to 2018; sentence in November 2021. pv magazine
Who?
Gained
Lost
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The sources reviewed describe Mantria's offer as carbon-negative housing and biochar and DC Solar's sales as tax-credit-driven; they do not state the buyers' reasons beyond that. US Securities and Exchange Commission
How?
Mantria is described by the Department of Justice as a Ponzi scheme; DC Solar sold mobile solar generators, many of which did not exist. US Department of Justice (US Attorney's Office)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Mantria Corporation raised $54.5m from investors on an offer of carbon-negative housing and biochar. The Department of Justice release on the founder's sentence describes the case as a $54 million Ponzi scheme. In August 2019 Wragg, the founder, was sentenced to 22 years; McKelvy received 18 years and Knorr 2.5 years. The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained judgments of more than $135m (SEC Litigation Release 22483).

DC Solar ran from 2011 to 2018. According to pv magazine, it sold mobile solar generators in a tax-credit-driven scheme, many of the generators did not exist, and the scheme involved about $1bn. Its owner Carpoff pleaded guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering and was sentenced to 30 years in November 2021; about $120m was forfeited.

  1. 2011DC Solar scheme begins (recorded as 2011 to 2018)
  2. 2019Wragg, founder of Mantria, sentenced to 22 years (August)
  3. 2021Carpoff, owner of DC Solar, sentenced to 30 years (November)

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Mantria: $54.5m raised; Wragg 22 years (August 2019), McKelvy 18 years, Knorr 2.5 years; SEC judgments of more than $135m.
      US Securities and Exchange Commission
    • DC Solar: Carpoff 30 years (November 2021) after pleading guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering; about $120m forfeited.
      pv magazine

    In nature's name

    What was promised in nature's name, the money that moved, and what was measured.

    Money moved in nature's name

    WhatKindAmountPeriod
    Raised from investors by Mantria
    Mantria Corporation
    US Securities and Exchange Commission    		Raised$55mto 2019
    Size of the DC Solar scheme
    DC Solar
    pv magazine    		Sales≈ $1bn2011–2018
    SEC judgments in the Mantria case
    Mantria defendants
    US Securities and Exchange Commission    		Penalty> $135mto 2019
    Forfeited in the DC Solar case
    Carpoff
    pv magazine    		Penalty≈ $120m2021

    What was measured

    Not measured

    No independent measurement of any carbon, biochar or solar-generation output from either scheme is on record in the sources reviewed; the sources describe many DC Solar generators as not existing.

    Findings on record

    • Court or regulator ruling US federal court (US Attorney's Office release) (2019-08) · Mantria: Wragg 22 years; McKelvy 18 years; Knorr 2.5 years US Department of Justice (US Attorney's Office)
    • Court or regulator ruling US federal court (2021-11) · DC Solar: Carpoff 30 years after pleading guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering pv magazine

    Who gained

    Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

    Reached nature or the ground

    Not published
    No figure published.

    Gained elsewhere

    Not totalled
    Raised from investors by Mantria$55m
    SEC judgments in the Mantria case> $135m
    Size of the DC Solar scheme, 2011–2018 (pv magazine)≈ $1bn
    Forfeited in the DC Solar case≈ $120m
    Currency: USD · Window: 2011–2021. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2019-08Claimant won
      Mantria founder Wragg, McKelvy and Knorr: criminal sentences
      US federal court (prosecuted by a US Attorney's Office; name not given in the sources reviewed) · Criminal · United States → Wragg, McKelvy, Knorr

      Wragg, the founder of Mantria, was sentenced to 22 years in August 2019; the Department of Justice release describes a $54 million Ponzi scheme. McKelvy received 18 years and Knorr 2.5 years; their sentencing dates are not stated. US Department of Justice (US Attorney's Office)

    2. Claimant won$135m SEC judgments, more than
      SEC v. Mantria defendants: civil judgments
      US court (SEC Litigation Release 22483) · Civil · US Securities and Exchange Commission → Mantria and related defendants named in SEC Litigation Release 22483

      The SEC obtained judgments of more than $135m. US Securities and Exchange Commission

    3. 2021-11Guilty plea$120m Forfeited, about
      United States v. Carpoff (DC Solar)
      US federal court (name not given in the sources reviewed) · Criminal · United States → Carpoff, owner of DC Solar

      Carpoff pleaded guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering and was sentenced to 30 years in November 2021; about $120m was forfeited (pv magazine). pv magazine

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    Court ruling existsBenefit not measured

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Did the harm stop?

    The sources reviewed do not state when either scheme stopped; DC Solar is recorded as running 2011 to 2018.

    Who paid?

    Investors put in $54.5m in Mantria; the SEC obtained judgments of more than $135m. About $120m was forfeited in the DC Solar case. No payment to nature or to an environmental fund is on record in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Government and regulators

    1. SEC Litigation Release No. 22483
      US Securities and Exchange Commission ·

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Institutions

    SEC
    The US Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates securities markets and what companies tell investors.

    Law and courts

    Plea
    In a criminal case, the defendant's formal answer to a charge. A plea agreement settles a case with a guilty plea on agreed terms.
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