Former PG&E Employee Admits To Fraud, Kickbacks

SACRAMENTO, CA — A former Dublin resident and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. employee is facing up to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and admitted to receiving kickback payments from a company owned by his cousin, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

Ronald S. Schoenfeld, 65, of Goodyear, Arizona helped steer PG&E contracts toward his cousin's Stockton transportation company and received about 2.5 percent of the contract value in return, prosecutors said.

PG&E doled out $82 million in contracts to his cousin's business from 2007 to 2015. Schoenfeld received at least $1.5 million in kickbacks, prosecutors said.

During his tenure at PG&E, he provided confidential information to his cousin, intervened to direct business to his cousin and did not tell PG&E the company was owned by his cousin, prosecutors said.

Schoenfeld's sentencing is set to occur Nov. 16 before U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. He may also face a $250,000 fine.