FBI raids East Bay solar company Headquarters, CEO's home searched

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- The FBI confirms it raided a home in Martinez this week, belonging to Paulette and Jeff Carpoff, owners of DC Solar Company based in Benicia.

Neighbors say the house was swarming with Federal agents.

"There were a lot of FBI and U.S. Marshals going in, they said it wasn't something we had to worry about," said a neighbor who declined to give her name.

The FBI would not disclose why the home was searched.

DC Solar's Headquarters was also raided by Federal agents. The building has been closed since Tuesday. Witnesses saw agents seizing items.

"They basically started taking cars, computers and files away, all of that," said Miguel Diaz.

In a statement, The Carpoff's Attorney said, "The Carpoff family was surprised and disappointed with the actions taken by the government earlier this week which appear to relate to an ongoing tax dispute. The Carpoffs are grateful for the support of their friends and family and have trust in the system to resolve this matter."

The Carpoffs also own the Martinez Clippers Baseball Team, and DC Solar is a sponsor of Kyle Larson's Energy NASCAR Cup race team, which is owned by Chip Ganassi Racing.

The Ganassi team told us in a statement, "Although we have received little in the way of facts, we are aware of the situation with DC Solar and are monitoring it closely."

People gathered near the DC Solar headquarters on Friday but no one was talking.

We made several attempts to reach the Carpoffs at their home with no luck.