SAN FRANCISCO – The Steyer for Governor campaign has filed a formal complaint alleging PG&E violated California law by illegally funneling $8 million through a shell committee to conceal its identity in political advertisements opposing Steyer.

The complaint outlines a plot by PG&E to create a brand-new political committee, staff it with a PG&E executive, and wire $8 million into it. Three days later, that committee turned around and sent every penny to another group running ads against Steyer. The middle committee has never spent money on anything else. It appears to exist for one reason only: to launder PG&E's identity out of the picture.

The scheme matters because California law requires political ads to tell voters who is really paying for them. Instead of clearly disclosing PG&E’s role as the top funder of the ads, the commercials obscure PG&E name in the midst of several groups behind an obscure shell committee most voters have never heard of. Tens of millions of Californians saw those ads without realizing PG&E was behind them.

"PG&E charges Californians some of the highest electricity rates in the country, and their faulty equipment has sparked deadly wildfires," said Ryan Hughes, General Counsel to the campaign. "Tom has called for breaking up utility monopolies, so PG&E is spending millions to stop him. That's their right, but hiding it from voters is not."

The complaint has been filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission and referred to Attorney General Rob Bonta, who could pursue a criminal investigation.

Read the full complaint here.