Settlement Reached with Ohio Prosecutors
FirstEnergy Corp., the Akron-based energy company at the heart of a $60 million bribery scandal in Ohio, has agreed to pay $20 million to avoid criminal prosecution. The settlement, announced Tuesday, resolves the company’s involvement in the wide-reaching corruption case without additional criminal charges.
Details of the Agreement
The deal, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and announced by FirstEnergy, stipulates that the company will pay $19.5 million to the Ohio Attorney General’s office within five business days. An additional $500,000 will be allocated to hire an independent consultant to review and verify the company’s recent “changes and remediation efforts.”
In exchange for the payment and continued cooperation with ongoing investigations by the state attorney general and the Summit County prosecutor’s office, FirstEnergy will avoid further criminal charges. The agreement also settles a civil lawsuit filed by the Ohio Attorney General in 2020.
Ongoing Legal Fallout
The settlement follows the indictment of two former FirstEnergy executives, Chuck Jones, the former CEO, and Michael Dowling, the former Senior Vice President of FirstEnergy Services Corp., in April. Both have denied any wrongdoing in relation to the bribery scheme. Another key figure, former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo, was also charged but pleaded not guilty before his death by suicide at age 74 in April.
The scandal has already led to severe consequences for others involved. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2023 for orchestrating the scheme. Matt Borges, a lobbyist and former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, received a five-year sentence.
The Bribery Scheme
Federal prosecutors revealed that the $60 million from FirstEnergy was funneled through secret channels to help elect Householder’s preferred candidates to the Ohio House in 2018. The funds were then used to ensure Householder’s election as House Speaker in 2019 and to pass House Bill 6, a controversial energy bill. Additionally, $38 million was spent on a campaign to prevent a repeal referendum from reaching the ballot.
FirstEnergy previously admitted its role in the scheme as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in July 2021. The company agreed to pay $230 million in penalties and implement extensive reforms to avoid federal criminal prosecution on a conspiracy charge.
