PG&E blindsided Butte County prosecutors by announcing that it plans to pay $4 million of fines and legal fees for its manslaughter convictions by taking the money from a fund set up for the victims of the Camp Fire and other fires caused by the company's equipment.
"It's PG&E being PG&E," quipped Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey. "I certainly didn't expect that they'd be taking money from the victims to pay their fine. It's just incredibly insensitive." PG&E, which enjoys a state-sanctioned monopoly over 16 million Californians, announced a plea agreement with Ramsey's office this week.
PG&E agreed to plead guilty as charged to 84 counts of felony involuntary manslaughter and one additional felony for illegally starting the Camp Fire. The decision to pay the monetary punishment using victim funds "could be" a dealbreaker for the plea agreement, Ramsey told ABC10 in an interview Thursday.