California man gets prison for nearly $9M phony cow manure-to-green energy investment scheme
A California man is going to prison for running a cow dung-to-green energy scheme that authorities say was a load of manure FRESNO, Calif. -- A California man is going to prison for running a cow dung-to -green energy scheme that authorities say was a load of manure . Ray Brewer, 66, of Porterville was sentenced Monday to six years and nine months in federal prison in a years-long scam that bilked investors out of $8.75 million, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office. Brewer ran a scheme from 2014 through 2019 in which he claimed to be building anaerobic digesters at dairies in California's Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties and in Idaho, prosecutors said. Anaerobic digesters “use microorganisms to break down biodegradable material and turn it into methane” that can be sold and that also provide the producers with renewable energy credits for producing green energy, the statement said. Brewer told investors he would turn cow manure into methane while...