Who is Matthew Borges and what is he accused of in the Ohio Statehouse bribery case?

Matt Borges

Matt Borges and members of the Ohio delegation cheer during the Republican National Convention in 2016. [The Plain Dealer]

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Lobbyist Matt Borges attempted to help his client, FirstEnergy Corp., wade through the ugly fight of a legislative referendum with a little help, authorities say.

Just weeks after Ohio lawmakers passed the billion-dollar bailout of FirstEnergy last year, good government groups and legislative watchdogs began pushing back. They talked about a referendum that would allow residents to vote on the measure.

To prevent that, Borges sought out a person working for the referendum campaign and requested inside information on the group – for a price.

He sought to help the person financially, even offering to pay off debts, the FBI said in a document unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.

“I promise this will be worth your while,” Borges told the person, who was actually working as an informant for the FBI.

He paid the informant $15,000, the document said. He also threatened to “blow up” the person’s home if word of the payment ever got out, according to the allegations.

The FBI spelled out Borges’ role in a scheme to pass the bailout, known as House Bill 6, through the Ohio General Assembly.

Borges, 48, of Bexley, was accused Tuesday of federal conspiracy involving a $60 million bribery scheme involving FirstEnergy and its fight to get the legislation passed.

Borges’ attorney, Karl Schneider, could not be reached for comment.

The allegations in the FBI affidavit detail Borges’ role in an enterprise pushed by Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others, including Householder’s top aide, Jeff Longstreth, and lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes. All are accused of conspiracy.

The document says Borges, the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, was a key middleman in the scheme, and he worked to thwart a referendum attempt after lawmakers passed the bailout plan last year.

The company has not been charged in the case. A FirstEnergy statement released late Tuesday afternoon said that the company received subpoenas in connection with the investigation.

“We are reviewing the details of the investigation, and we intend to fully cooperate,” the company stated.

The affidavit says that FirstEnergy, reeling from losses and trouble with its nuclear plants, began making quarterly payments of $250,000 in 2017. The company, according to documents, made the payments through Generation Now, a bank account the FBI says Householder controlled.

In 2019, Borges set up a company called 17 Consulting Group. He received $1.62 million in wire transfers from Generation Now, according to the FBI affidavit.

The filing said Borges called FirstEnergy’s flow of funds to Generation Now “Monopoly money.” He made more than $350,000 from FirstEnergy’s funds to the account, according to the FBI document.

The FBI affidavit alleged he bribed the informant to help gain information on the referendum push and to defeat it. He specifically sought out the number of people collecting signatures.

Initially, the informant was hesitant to take Borges’ cash, the document said.

The FBI’s source talked about wanting to be debt-free “and not have to worry, but I can’t put a price on my integrity,” the informant said.

The FBI then sent the informant back, and Borges later paid the person, the document said.

Borges stressed discretion to the informant: “No matter what, don’t ever tell anyone about our conversation earlier,” he said.

Read the full complaint:

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