The Spanish Springs shopping center in Sparks, Nevada, hosts various businesses, including a Spirit Halloween and a Vietnamese restaurant, as well as a consulting agency named Lantern Production Consultants LLC. This agency has reportedly received around $20 million from the pro-AI super PAC network Think Big, which is part of the Leading the Future PAC, ahead of the November midterm elections. Federal campaign finance records indicate that Lantern Production Consultants has been compensated for services such as polling, digital advertising, research, and strategy.
However, Lantern Production Consultants appears to have no physical presence beyond a post office box in the shopping complex. It is one of four LLCs based in Nevada that have received payments from super PACs within the Leading the Future network, which has raised over $140 million to influence political campaigns aligned with AI industry priorities. Other LLCs include Summit Ridge Media Group LLC, which received approximately $13 million from American Mission, and Blue Horizon Compliance Consultants, which has its address listed at a Staples location in Reno.
Election watchdogs have raised concerns that these LLCs may be shell companies designed to obscure the identities of strategists and consultants working with Leading the Future. Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, stated, "This is about hiding where the money is going." In May, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that Think Big and American Mission violated federal law by using shell companies without disclosing the actual recipients of their payments.
In response, Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt stated, "We comply with all applicable laws and this is merely a desperate ploy for attention from Public First, Anthropic, and the groups aligned with their outside organizations who see our message resonating with the public and policymakers."
The Campaign Legal Center does not anticipate a swift resolution from the FEC, which has not had a quorum of four commissioners since May 2025, limiting its ability to address legal complaints. Meanwhile, the Leading the Future network continues to invest heavily in these Nevada LLCs.
Leading the Future has garnered attention not only for its financial backing from prominent AI investors like Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz but also for its dual support of both Republican and Democratic candidates. Think Big primarily funds Democrats, while American Mission supports Republicans. This strategy has led to speculation about the network's spending on undisclosed vendors, as political consultants typically align with either party.
Kyle Morse, deputy executive director of Tech Oversight Project, noted that the use of Republican vendors in Democratic campaigns raises questions about transparency. The FEC's inability to enforce campaign finance laws effectively exacerbates the situation, leaving voters without crucial information about campaign funding sources.
The trend of using shell companies to obscure vendor identities is not unique to Leading the Future. Earlier this year, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint against pro-gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera, alleging that his campaign's disbursements were funneled through Texas Strategy Group, which was claimed to be a shell entity. Herrera's campaign denied the allegations, and similar complaints have been made against other PACs. Ports emphasized that this practice contributes to the growing issue of dark money in politics, complicating the transparency of campaign financing.