By THOMAS CATAN And DEBORAH SOLOMON
Solyndra LLC, a California solar-panel maker once hailed by President Barack Obama as "the future" of clean energy, is the target of a criminal investigation into whether its executives knowingly misled the government to secure more than $500 million in loan guarantees, said people familiar with the matter.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday raided the company's headquarters in Fremont, Calif., seeking documents and records in the previously undisclosed federal probe.
The raids were conducted at the behest of the Department of Energy, and agents from the department's inspector general's office also took part, officials said. Solyndra filed for bankruptcy protection this week, leaving U.S. taxpayers on the hook for as much as $527 million.
The raids jolted Washington, where Republicans had this week criticized the White House's support for the financially stricken company. Some Democratic lawmakers also called for company executives to answer questions before Congress.
The FBI raids the offices of solar-panel company Solyndra, days after it declared bankruptcy and left U.S. taxpayers holding the bag for some $535 million in federal loans. Peter Landers has details on The News Hub. (Photo: AP.)
"The FBI raid further underscores that Solyndra was a bad bet from the beginning and put taxpayers at unnecessary risk," said Reps. Fred Upton (R., Mich.) and Cliff Stearns (R., Fla.) of the House Energy and Commerce Commitee.
A Solyndra spokesman called the raid a "total surprise" and said he didn't know what the FBI was looking for. "We are cooperating and giving them access to whatever they want," said the spokesman, David Miller.
The agencies involved in the raid declined to say what the investigation was centered on. The people familiar with the matter said the company's actions in securing federal loan guarantees were the focus of thecriminal probe.
On Thursday, a lone FBI agent stood in the driveway of Solyndra's stylish new main building, keeping nonemployees from entering. It was eerily quiet on the sunny campus as a handful of company security guards stood by the front doors and the only sound came from the whir of the freeway nearby. Solyndra has laid off more than 1,000 people and just 100 or so remain.
The collapse of Solyndra is a pockmark for a government loan-guarantee program that was created in 2005 and received billions of dollars in funding under the 2009 economic-stimulus law. The Obama administration, which pushed the program as a way of promoting renewable energy, has moved forward with it even as Solyndra, the first deal executed under the stimulus, has collapsed.
A DOE spokesman said Thursday the program has "supported a robust, diverse portfolio of more than 40 projects that are investing in pioneering companies as we work to regain American leadership in the global race for clean energy jobs."
The White House declined to comment and referred to the DOE statement.
Solyndra, which shut down its plant last week and laid off around 1,100 employees, is racing to find a buyer to prevent a liquidation of its assets. The company found it couldn't survive the economic slowdown and competition from well-financed Chinese rivals, which pushed down solar-panel prices world-wide.
Starting in 2009, Solyndra received $527 million in loans from a federal financing agency that were guaranteed by the Energy Department. But signs of trouble emerged shortly thereafter.
In March 2010, the company disclosed that its external auditor had questioned whether it could survive.
In a special note, PricewaterhouseCoopers said the company "has suffered recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders' deficit that, among other factors, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern."
Even so, Mr. Obama visited the company in May 2010, hailing it as a model investment by the government and a "testament to American ingenuity and dynamism."
House Republicans have questioned whether the White House interfered improperly with the Solyndra deal. The family foundation of billionaire George Kaiser, who was a bundler for the president's 2008 campaign, invested in Solyndra.
On Sept. 1, two House Republicans investigating the Solyndra deal said they had evidence the White House monitored the loan deal and communicated with the Energy Department as it was being reviewed. The White House has denied any impropriety.
The House Energy Committee has scheduled a hearing on the Solyndra bankruptcy next week, and two top Democrats called for Solyndra Chief Executive Brian Harrison to testify.
Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Diana DeGette of Colorado said Mr. Harrison had told them just two months ago that the company was in a strong financial position and at little risk of failing.
"At that time, he said the company was projected to double its revenues in 2011 [and] there was 'strong demand in the United States' for its shipments," the Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter. "These assurances appear to contrast starkly with his company's decision to file for bankruptcy last week."
The company has been searching for a buyer or investor to bail it out since February, when an out-of-court restructuring reshuffled its mounting debt load. Under the restructuring, the DOE agreed that in the event of a default and liquidation, the government would be paid after private creditors providing a new $69 million loan that the company said it needed to stay afloat.
The deal was unusual for the U.S., which is usually the most senior creditor in any type of loan or guarantee. But government officials viewed the arrangement as a way to protect the $460 million in taxpayer funds that were already on the line, people familiar with the matter said. That gamble failed as the company collapsed anyway.
On Wednesday, a bankruptcy judge gave Solyndra one month to find a buyer for its assets.
—Cassandra Sweet, Brent Kendall and Ryan Tracy contributed to this article
Source
(Back then)
Obama @ Solyndra: "American inginuety and dynamism,.. embodied the entreprenuerial spirit,.."
Part 2
Uploaded by StartLoving3 on May 26, 2010
While traveling in California, President Obama visited Solyndra Inc., a solar panel manufacturer, and spoke to employees about the economy. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was also in attendance.
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