KQED journalist Lily Jamali has a must-read piece out on Pacific Gas & Electric and the $25 billion settlement brokered by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 that has, apparently, only benefited the lawyers so far:
The PG&E bankruptcy deal brokered by Gov. @GavinNewsom hasn't panned out so far for the company's tens of thousands of fire victims, @lilyjamali explains: https://t.co/GvjI1jrzdc
— Brandon Rittiman (@BrandonRittiman) May 6, 2021
Republicans who want to become governor, THIS is something you should be focusing on:
"PG&E fire victims included in a December 2019 settlement with the company have yet to see a dime. That's as lawyers and administrators have been paid millions, with the money coming directly from funds set aside to help survivors…"
Thread ⤵️ h/t @lilyjamali https://t.co/Gj3Y3fO8Sg
— Ericka Cruz Guevarra (@NotoriousECG) May 6, 2021
The rates the lawyers are charging to NOT pay out victims is “f—–g outrageous”:
This is f—–g outrageous.
The @JAMSADR trustee is billing at SCOTUS bar rates, while so many fire victims have gotten nothing. https://t.co/4VGNSqm2q3
— Dan Levine (@FedcourtJunkie) May 6, 2021
And Newsom is dodging questions about it all:
NEW: We found the PG&E Fire Victim Trust spent almost 90% of its money on overhead last year ($51m+) while the vast majority of survivors haven't seen a dime.
In response, @GavinNewsom's spokesperson said: "We do not have any information to provide at this time." https://t.co/IA1yF9I5FO— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 12, 2021
Thread from Jamali:
NEW: A KQED investigation found that last year, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust spent $50m+ on administrative fees/expenses and just $7m on compensating fire victims.
So far, 334 of 67,000 fire victims have had their claims processed and paid (30% for now).https://t.co/XGvMaIjIjM pic.twitter.com/OLxJSzCfzN
— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
The Fire Victim Trust's annual report is vague on who's gotten paid, and how much. It's broken out only by category.
From reviewing records, we know these salaries:
*Trustee: $1,500/hr
*Claims administrator: $1250/hr
And several firms made millions while survivors wait. pic.twitter.com/LMjjLMfrLi— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
The Trust – run by a neutral and administrator from @JAMSADR – declined our repeated inquiries through a spokesperson.
None of these firms responded to tell us how much they made: @MorganStanley @MorganLewisLaw @BDO_USA @ZumadoPR @BrownRudnickLLP & BrownGreer.— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
We also noticed the Trust had been funded with $5.385b in cash. It was supposed to be $5.4b.
This is how it became clear that the $38.7m reported in the Trust's "annual report" was incomplete. It covers July-December, but leaves out the first half of the year… pic.twitter.com/aW4i3DTcVy— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
…From January-June, the Trust made at least an extra $12.7m, which PG&E had already paid towards the Trust's startup costs. The company took it out of the first round of cash funding, per their court-approved agreement.
— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
Meanwhile, Camp Fire victim Bill Cook has gotten $0 so far. He went from a 6br house in Paradise to a 3br rental in Davis. He's eating into his savings. The rental costs 3x his old mortgage. 9 people live there. They've divided the living room into another bedroom and an office. pic.twitter.com/FTYfSUO4Jl
— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
Read the whole thing here:
Here's the full story: https://t.co/XGvMaIjIjM
— Lily Jamali (@lilyjamali) May 6, 2021
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