Million-dollar Shelby Super Snake Seized in Ponzi-scheme Raid
Florida couple went from rags to riches ripping off Warren Buffett, amassing more than 90 cars before it all came crashing down.
We often dream of what we’d do if we won the lottery or became multi-millionaires overnight. Obviously, the many different kinds of awesome cars we’d buy dominate those plans. And that list includes more than one Mustang, of course. Not to mention things like mansions, yachts, and enough fine whiskey to fill a special hidden room. And that’s exactly the sort of life Jeff and Paulette Carpoff enjoyed after scoring $800 million selling mobile solar generators via their company, DC Solar.
Sounds great, of course. But there was just one tiny problem with this mega successful corporation. According to a Bloomberg report, the FBI has accused the Carpoffs of running a Ponzi scheme, not a legitimate business. Or in other words, they weren’t spending those hundreds of millions of investor dollars on actual solar generators, as they claimed. Instead, they were living quite the lavish lifestyle.
One that included 20+ properties, a baseball team, a Christmas party featuring Pitbull as the headline act, and 90+ amazing cars. According to Market Insider, that collection included at least two different Mustangs, too. The first, a classic 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake, a car valued at $192,550. But as special as that might seem, it wasn’t even close to being the most expensive Mustang in the Carpoff’s collection.
That distinction goes to a certain 2007 Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake that cost the couple a cool one million. And we know what you’re thinking – why the heck did they spend that much cash on a car obviously not worth seven figures? Well, they purchased the car via a Barrett-Jackson charity lot benefiting wounded first responders. It was also originally owned by former Ford CEO Mark Fields and wears VIN #007, making it one of the first of the new-gen GT500s built.
So hey, at least the scheming couple donated some of their illegally raised dough to a good cause. But sadly, all of their efforts were for naught. DC Solar is now out of business, their home is in foreclosure, and their cars seized. The couple’s unlikely rise to fortune rendered moot overnight. Their fascinating car collection likely headed for some government auction.
On the bright side, some lucky folks might just score a great deal on a killer Mustang or two. And this time around, they’ll come with a pretty great story, too.
Photos: Barrett-Jackson
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