Federal Grand Jury Investigates Solyndra

A federal grand jury has been investigating , the troubled solar company which has offices in Fremont and Milpitas, for at least two months, according to court records.

The grand jury investigation was disclosed in legal papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware last Friday. The papers were filed by the law firm K&L Gates, which represents Solyndra in its bankruptcy filing. The company announced on Aug. 31 that it was filing for bankruptcy, abruptly laid off its 1,100 employees, and ceased operations. The FBI raided Solyndra's Fremont headquarters the following week, and Congress is investigating the company.

K&L's filing included an invoice for $146,037 in legal fees and refers multiple times to its attorney dealing with a grand jury and a grand jury subpoena.

The firm's first reference to the matter was at a session on Oct. 9, when attorney Jeffrey Bornstein billed Solyndra $384 for reviewing a grand jury subpoena and other work. The following day another attorney worked on drafting correspondence to the U.S. Attorney's Office "regarding grand jury subpoena," according to the filing.

Solyndra maintained a high profile before it filed for bankruptcy. President Obama visited Solyndra on May 26, 2010, and said the company and its workers are "a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism." Energy Secretary Steven Chu and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new manufacturing facility at Solyndra on Sept. 4, 2009, and Vice President Joe Biden participated via satellite from Washington, D.C.

- Bay City News Service