Details are emerging on how Tyler Fehrman came to help the FBI bust Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, Matt Borges and three others in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme.
Cleveland.com reported on the details, including an interview with Fehrman, here.
Fehrman is described as a Columbus political consultant who said he contacted the FBI in September 2019. He said his friend, Matt Borges, the former Ohio Republican Party chair, encouraged him to take a job with an organization working to force a referendum on appealing House Bill 6.
Fehrman, who was described as out of work and in debt, took the job, then Borges allegedly offered him $15,000 to give inside information about the referendum effort, cleveland.com said.
House Bill 6 was a nuclear power plant bailout, The Ohio Star said.
Fehrman at first turned down Borges’ offer, the story said, then made contact with the FBI, who asked him to wear a wire and meet with Borges, cleveland.com said.
The Ohio Republican Central Committee recently censured Borges for running the Right Side PAC to support Joe Biden, The Star reported. The party said they took the action as well due to an FEC violation and Borges’ continued criticism of President Donald Trump. They also stripped him of his “chairman emeritus” status.
Borges led the party during the tenure of Gov. John Kasich, a Never-Trumper.
The Toledo Blade reported that Borges tried to use Fehrman, a project manager for the referendum, to kill the effort. Fehrman was identified in the federal criminal affidavit as “CHS 1.”
Mr. Borges is accused of attempting to kill the referendum effort by bribing CHS 1, using money obtained from Company A, believed to be FirstEnergy.
The money used in the scheme was funneled through a non-profit called Generation Now.
Authorities say CHS 1 provided the FBI with a recording of Mr. Borges describing the relationship between Mr. Householder, FirstEnergy, and Generation Now. He allegedly told Mr. Fehrman that Mr. Householder was “helping with the issue our single largest client cares about….”
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Matt Borges” by MSNBC.
