Campaign Legal Center Alleges Delaware Corporation Served as “Straw Donor” To Hide the True Source of Over $1.4 Million in Political Contributions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against “Save Our Home Planet Action, Inc.” (“SOHPA”) and anyone who provided it with funds to make over $1.4 million in political contributions in “SOHPA”’s name, a blatant violation of federal campaign finance laws. 

The complaint alleges that SOHPA, established on August 6, 2024, was not the true source of contributions made to five different super and hybrid PACs. By using SOHPA as a shell company in their “straw donor” scheme, the individuals behind these contributions violated laws intended to promote transparency, depriving voters of essential information. 

“Voters have a right to know who is spending money to influence their votes, elect their preferred candidates, and sway public policy,” says Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at CLC. “This is just the latest example of how wealthy corporate special interests are using straw donor schemes to secretly spend enormous amounts of money on our elections. The FEC must investigate who really contributed over $1.4 million through this scheme, and hold any violators accountable for depriving the public of this vital information.” 

SOHPA has no online footprint or record of other activities that could explain how it was able to make millions in political contributions, beginning just 10 days after being formed, absent an infusion of funds provided for that purpose. Notably, SOHPA appears to share an address with the corporate headquarters of Patagonia, Inc., according to the financial disclosures of the political committees it contributed to. Even the name of the purported donor entity, “Save Our Home Planet Action,” quotes verbatim Patagonia’s corporate motto “to save our home planet,” a phrase that the company also uses on its merchandise. These connections, CLC alleges, strongly suggest that Patagonia or its executives may be the true source of the contributions made in SOHPA’s name. 

The FEC has previously issued civil fines over straw donor schemes. To protect voters’ rights, CLC has asked it to investigate who is really behind the over $1.4 million in contributions by SOHPA to political action committees.