COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two former FirstEnergy Corp. executives are facing fresh criminal charges after Ohio’s attorney general announced Thursday that a grand jury has issued new indictments in the state’s massive $60 million corruption case.
Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, worked alongside Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich to outline 22 new criminal charges targeting Charles “Chuck” Jones, the former chief executive of the Akron-based utility company, and Michael Dowling, who previously served as the company’s lead lobbyist. The pair’s original prosecutions concluded in mistrial earlier this year.
“The roots of this complex case haven’t changed — FirstEnergy was hijacked by two scheming executives who sought to control the regulator that influenced the company’s stock prices,” Yost said in a statement. “I’m confident that Ohio’s ratepayers will get justice when the facts are unearthed in the courtroom.”
The charges against each defendant include engaging in corrupt activity patterns, bribery, conspiracy, evidence tampering, and two telecommunications fraud counts. Jones faces two additional obstruction of justice charges, while Dowling is hit with 14 extra counts of record tampering.
These fresh indictments arrive while defense attorneys for both executives are pursuing acquittals from Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross. Their six-week trial in Akron concluded in March without jury consensus after nine days of deliberations.
At the heart of the prosecution’s case lies a $4.3 million payment FirstEnergy delivered to experienced attorney and lobbyist Sam Randazzo in 2019, just before his appointment as Ohio’s chief utility regulator. Prosecutors contend Jones and Dowling orchestrated this substantial payment to Randazzo in return for regulatory and legislative benefits he would provide as chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. These favors allegedly included helping craft and promote House Bill 6, which contained a $1 billion rescue package for two deteriorating FirstEnergy-connected nuclear facilities.
FirstEnergy terminated both executives in October 2020 for breaking company policies and conduct standards.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is currently serving 20 years in prison for leading a FirstEnergy-backed conspiracy to gain power, install political allies, and pass the legislation, followed by running a smear campaign against repeal efforts. The scheme resulted in five total indictments: one person received five years for blocking the repeal, another died by suicide after entering a not guilty plea, and two others await sentencing while assisting investigators.
Randazzo also took his own life while facing state and federal charges. A major trial dispute centered on whether he counted as a public official when the alleged bribe occurred. The $4.3 million transfer happened just before Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine named him PUCO chairman. Republican U.S. Sen. and former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who is campaigning to keep his position this fall, testified that Jones and Dowling were still advocating for a different candidate for the role.
Yost revealed Thursday that investigators have uncovered fresh evidence since the original charges.
“This new indictment includes some additional facts that were not known to us at the time of the first indictment that we became aware of because of a civil lawsuit against FirstEnergy,” he said in a video message. Both DeWine and Husted, who face no accusations of misconduct, received subpoenas in that separate legal action.
The latest indictment alleges that Jones and Dowling operated as part of a criminal organization, executing an extensive secret conspiracy from 2010 through 2021 to bribe state officials and unlawfully promote FirstEnergy’s financial interests along with their own. They’re accused of collaborating to “steal the power of government and bend it to the will of FirstEnergy” while hiding their activities through fraudulent ethics filings.
Dowling’s legal representatives stated the new indictment repeats many previous charges and incorporates additional material that the judge specifically barred during trial, including particular criminal allegations against both defendants that she dismissed.
“The timing of the new indictment comes within days of Attorney General Dave Yost leaving office on Monday,” the statement notes, and just before oral arguments on Dowling’s and Jones’ post-verdict motions for acquittal, which are set for Friday.
Yost faces term limits and was essentially pushed out of the governor’s race last year when GOP backing shifted toward biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. He announced in May his resignation six months early to accept an executive role at Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organization. Public Safety Director Andy Wilson has been named interim attorney general through January.
