现在，一代人的组织者是俄亥俄州的一个政治团体，已在联邦法院承诺有罪，参加了一场耗资6000万美元的敲诈勒索阴谋，以帮助一家主要的公用事业提供商。
The charges involve funds sent to Generation Now— a 501(c)4 group defined by the IRS as a “social welfare organization”— from FirstEnergy Corp. and its affiliates. The money was then used for political donations to help secure the votes of state House members in support of a 2019 bill that bailed out two nuclear power plants formerly owned by FirstEnergy.
The plants were in danger of closing.
Generation Now’s leaders pled guilty to one count of racketeering on behalf of the nonprofit in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 19.
The political group Generation Now is not related to a 501(c)3 nonprofit of the same name based in Cincinnati that offers training, professional development and networking for young professionals.
“社会福利”团体
现年44岁的杰弗里·朗斯特雷斯（Jeffrey Longstreth）是俄亥俄州众议院议长拉里·霍纳（Larry Houseperer）的长期竞选和政治战略家，俄亥俄州众议院议长拉里·霍纳（Larry Houndower），代表非营利组织签署了认罪文件，朗斯特雷斯（Longstreth）共同创立了该文件。
根据法院文件，据称世代现在是在住户中心和其他收到数百万美元的人以换取特定官方行动的情况。Househorder和他的企业现在获得了大约6100万美元的捐款，该捐款最初是作为一个社会福利组织创建的。
但是，根据Longstreth的认罪协议，非营利组织的真正目的是获得受益于住户的未公开捐款。
Longstreth pled guilty to the same charge as an individual in Oct. 2020, in a case brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, David DeVillers.
The bailout of the two plants that FirstEnergy received cost taxpayers $1.1 billion.
As part of the conspiracy, Generation Now allegedly engaged in financial transactions to conceal the source of payments. Longstreth, Householder and three other men accused of participating in the conspiracy face up to 20 years in federal prison for bribery.
作为请求的一部分，一代现在同意没收其资产，其中包括从组织的银行帐户中扣押的近150万美元。该案涉及的当事方建议对非营利组织进行缓刑长达五年。
Commenting on Generation Now and the conspiracy, Jeff Deyette, director of state policy and analysis in the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said, “It just demonstrates a new low in terms of how a utility will exercise its power and dollars and influence.”
