Complaint Argues DTE-Tied Group Aimed To Funnel $100k Into Unlock Michigan Campaign

Michigan Advance

November 11, 2025

A Michigan nonprofit with ties to one of the state’s largest energy companies is accused of participating in a dark money scheme to funnel money into an effort to overturn the governor’s COVID-19 emergency powers, according to a complaint filed with the Michigan Department of State.

Brought by Bob LaBrant, an attorney and former general counsel for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and filed by Mark Brewer, an election attorney and former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, the complaint alleges Michigan Energy First, a dark money group linked to DTE Energy, violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act by working to funnel $100,000 into the Unlock Michigan campaign in 2020.

In 2024, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced criminal charges against two fundraisers for their alleged participation in a scheme to funnel political contributions to the Unlock Michigan ballot initiative, through two nonprofits tied to former Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake), the result of an investigation into campaign finance complaints also filed by LaBrant and Brewer.

Unlock Michigan aimed to repeal the law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to issue emergency health orders during the pandemic, with the majority of funding for the effort stemming from Michigan! My Michigan! and Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, both 501(c)(4) nonprofits.

Groups using a 501(c)(4) designation are deemed to be social welfare organizations that, according to the IRS, cannot directly participate or intervene in political campaigns. However, they can raise money for ads that don’t expressly endorse or advocate for any particular candidate or ballot question, but instead “educate” voters on various issues. Most importantly, 501(c)(4) nonprofits do not have to reveal their donors or otherwise reveal where their money comes from.

Heather Lombardini, the head of Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, was one of the two individuals charged for allegedly encouraging businesspeople and political funds tied to large businesses to contribute to the group, with the intention of moving those funds to Unlock Michigan to support its signature collection efforts.

In their new complaint, LaBrant and Brewer argued Michigan Energy First’s donation to Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility was intended to support Unlock Michigan, citing text messages and emails disclosed in court as part of Lombardini’s preliminary examination in which the chief of staff in DTE’s Corporate and Government Affairs Division in 2020, Pam Headley, helped to facilitate the donation between the two groups. They also referenced exchanges between Lombardini and Shirkey regarding the check for the donation.

“The Attorney General’s office went to court and received an investigative subpoena to obtain [Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility] emails, bank records, and documents,” The complaint notes. “With this treasure trove the period of donor and anonymity ended. Very few major donors contributed directly to Unlock Michigan, choosing instead to funnel their secret funding through [Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility,] including [Michigan Energy First].”

During the 2022 election cycle, Michigan Energy First contributed $200,000 in support of another ballot question committee, Voters For Transparency and Term Limits, which supported a “yes” vote on Proposal 1, which modified term limits for the Legislature and required its members, as well as the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and attorney general to file annual public financial disclosure reports.

Brewer and LaBrant said this shows the group is “fully capable” of directly donating to a ballot question committee, writing that “unlike the funding of unlock Michigan, there was no strategic need for [Michigan Energy First] to keep their contribution hidden using a conduit.”

While speaking with the Michigan Advance, Eric Doster, attorney for Michigan Energy First, said “This is an absolutely baseless and meritless complaint. That’s my only comment.”

When asked about the complaint and DTE’s relationship with Michigan Energy First, Ryan Lowry, a spokesperson for DTE, said the company complies with “all applicable laws regarding corporate donations and political contributions.”

“While DTE has contributed to Michigan Energy First (MEF) in the past, we can’t speak on behalf of MEF or the contributions the organization makes,” Lowry said in an emailed statement.

Launched in 2014, Michigan Energy First is registered as a social welfare nonprofit. In its 2023 tax filings, the organization says its purpose is to “Educate legislators and the general public on the issues facing Michigan, and to advocate citizen participation & obtain grassroots support for public policies relating to federal, state or local legislation and ballot questions.”

Michigan Energy First is headed by Andrew Coulouris, DTE’s vice president of corporate & government affairs, while DTE’s manager of regulatory accounting, Theresa Uzenski, serves as the group’s treasurer. Frank Fountain, who served on DTE’s board of directors, is listed as a director in the group’s annual report with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Since the group’s inception, DTE representatives – namely lobbyists and executives – have sat on its board, Karlee Weinmann, a researcher for the Energy and Policy Institute, told the Advance on Monday.

Between Sept. 1, 2024, and Aug. 31, 2025, DTE contributed $8 million to Michigan Energy first, according to the company’s annual nonprofit contributions report. Contributions to social welfare nonprofits like Michigan Energy First are often hard to track down.

Weinmann also pointed to the emails released through Lombardini’s court case, noting that Headley had no known affiliation with Michigan Energy First. According to the Energy and Policy Institute’s review of the exchanges revealed in court, Renze Hoeksema, who served as Michigan Energy First’s President in 2020, and as a longtime lobbyist for DTE, was the one who instructed Headley to coordinate the exchange.

“It’s very difficult to sort of fully believe the utility’s line, which is that there’s, you know, separation between the two entities,” Weinmann said. “And I think the emails that came to light as part of that court proceeding really sort of affirm that there are bigger questions here about the depth of the relationship between DTE and Michigan Energy First.”

Dark money – or political spending where the source of money isn’t publicly known or disclosed – is used to avoid transparency, Weinmann said, and any effort to demystify or unmask the flow of that money is beneficial to the public.

These types of schemes aren’t new, Weinmann said, pointing to a ballot initiative aimed at barring utility companies and government contractors from making political contributions as a response to concerns about corporate spending in politics.

To the extent that this complaint can bring visibility to concerns about dark money and, if a violation is found, bring accountability and recourse, that is a win for transparency and political integrity in the state, Weinmann said.

The Michigan Advance, a hard-hitting, nonprofit news site, covers politics and policy across the state of Michigan through in-depth stories, blog posts, and social media updates, as well as top-notch progressive commentary. The Advance is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.