A Porterville man was sentenced to more than six years in prison today after being convicted of running a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme in which he purported to convert cow manure into clean energy.

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today, Ray Brewer, 66, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison after stealing $8,750,000 from investors from March 2014 through December 2019.

Brewer told investors his company would construct anaerobic digesters – large machines used to convert cow manure into green energy – and convinced investors that they would receive 66% of all net profits as well as tax incentives.

Findings revealed that Brewer took investors on tours of dairies that would house the equipment and sent them forged lease agreements with the dairy owners, as well as misrepresenting his financial status by falsely claiming that he had obtained millions of dollars to fund the construction of the digesters.

He also sent investors forged contracts with multinational companies to create an appearance of secured revenue, and falsified photos of digesters under construction.

Brewer transferred the funds to a number of bank accounts opened under different names, including family members and an alias.

With the funds, he purchased two plots of 10+ acre land, a 3,700 square-foot custom home and new Dodge Ram pickup trucks.

Brewer falsified invoices, reports, construction schedules and photos, to maintain the appearance of a legitimate project; once his victims became aware of the fraud and lodged a case, he moved to Montana and assumed a new identity.

Upon his arrest, Brewer initially claimed to be misidentified. He also claimed to have been in the Navy, and recalled saving several soldiers by blocking flames with his body to allow for their escape; Brewer had admitted these lies were aimed at gaining favor with law enforcement.

Brewer pleaded guilty in the case, which included 24 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft, on Feb. 27. He was arrested in late 2020.

Brewer originally faced up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 – $500,000, as well as a potential two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.

Several organizations, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, the FBI and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case which was prosecuted by the Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph D. Barton, Henry Z. Carbajal III and Alyson A. Berg.