Before she was sworn in at the legislature, Durham Democrat Sen. Sophia Chitlik was already in the thick of a high-stakes Washington fight over her husband’s energy company, American Efficient. In 2024, while the firm was under a multi-year federal probe, she joined husband Benjamin Abram in lobbying congressional staffers on the company’s behalf. Federal regulators have since blasted American Efficient’s conduct as a sweeping fraud and ordered roughly $722 million in civil penalties plus about $410 million in disgorgement. The fallout is now stirring fresh debate over what North Carolina officials must disclose and how campaign money from spouses is treated under state law.
Chitlik Joined Her Husband In Outreach
According to The News & Observer, Chitlik traveled with Abram in spring 2024 and sat in on meetings with staff in at least three congressional offices. Two legislative aides told the paper she was not just a silent spouse in the room but took an active role in the conversations.
Chitlik told the paper that her work on behalf of American Efficient was unpaid, narrow in scope and wrapped up before she took office. She also noted that she and Abram had legally separated in October 2023.
FERC Calls It A Money-For-Nothing Scheme
In a unanimous April 15 order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded that American Efficient ran what it called a “money-for-nothing” scheme and imposed roughly $722 million in civil penalties plus about $410 million in disgorgement, with interest, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The agency said the company cleared more than 20 gigawatts of capacity in the PJM power market by claiming energy savings it did not actually control. The firm has appealed and sued FERC in federal court, contesting both the findings and the agency’s authority, Business North Carolina reports.
Disclosure Questions And Campaign Cash
The North Carolina State Board of Elections explains that candidates and their spouses are exempt from the state’s individual contribution limits. That exemption helps explain why Abram’s $18,000 loan in 2024 and a $7,560 donation in February 2026 to Chitlik’s campaign did not violate the usual caps.
The News & Observer also found that Chitlik’s economic interest filings list no non-legislative income above $5,000. She told the paper she will begin listing her Senate salary on future reports.
Legal And Political Fallout
The Supreme Court’s June 2026 decision in the FCC cases clarified that some federal agencies can issue administrative forfeiture orders, while actually collecting on those penalties typically requires a separate court action. That enforcement framework could influence how FERC attempts to collect the penalties it ordered against American Efficient. For background on that doctrine, see the Court’s opinion in FCC v. AT&T at the Legal Information Institute.
What Comes Next
American Efficient says it plans to keep fighting the FERC order in court and has hired outside lawyers and lobbyists to press its case, according to Business North Carolina. At least one FERC commissioner has urged that the matter be referred to the U.S. attorney general for possible criminal charges, the outlet reported.
The U.S. Department of Justice, for its part, typically refuses to say whether it is investigating potential wrongdoing. Its Freedom of Information Act guidance explains why agencies often “neither confirm nor deny” that a probe even exists, as detailed by the DOJ Office of Information Policy.
