OHIO — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced additional indictments Monday against two former FirstEnergy executives and ex-Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo in the House Bill 6 bribery scandal investigation.

What You Need To Know

  • The two former executives named were former CEO Chuck Jones and former Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling

  • They are facing multiple charges, including bribery, telecommunications fraud, money laundering and theft

  • In total, Yost said there are 27 felony violations in connection to the case

The two former executives named were former CEO Chuck Jones and former Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling. The three have been charged with a combined 27 felony counts. 

Dowling and Jones were charged in connection to the $4.3 million that FirstEnergy allegedly paid Randazzo. 

“Jones and Dowling actively worked to spend FirstEnergy money to improperly influence Randazzo to exercise the authority of PUCO chairman to advance FirstEnergy’s regulatory and policy agendas,” the indictment states.

Carol O'Brien, deputy attorney general for law enforcement, said the indictment alleges Randazzo created two "sham" companies — the Sustainability Funding Alliance of Ohio and IEU-Ohio Administration Co. — that were used to hide FirstEnergy's deposits to Randazzo. O'Brien said the company would send the money into the two fake companies' accounts for Randazzo to receive, instead of directly paying him. 

Randazzo has denied the allegations.

"There can be no justice without holding the checkwriters and the masterminds accountable," Yost said during the press conference.

Separately, Randazzo had already been charged in the case in connection with an admission by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. that it paid him a $4.3 million bribe in exchange for favorable treatment. He has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. 

Yost said arrest warrants were made Friday, and representation of the defendants said that the three would turn themselves in Monday morning. Yost said they failed to do so, so the warrants remain active and he expects them to be in custody sometime Monday. 

The charges are as follows: 

Randazzo's 22 felony accounts include:

  • One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
  • One count of grand theft
  • Two counts aggravated theft
  • One count of bribery
  • Three counts of telecommunications fraud
  • Eight counts of money laundering
  • Six counts of tampering with records

Jones' 10 felony counts include:

  • One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity 
  • Two counts of aggravated theft of $1.5 million or more 
  • One count of bribery
  • Two counts of telecommunications fraud
  • Four counts of money laundering

Dowling's 12 felony counts include:

  • One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
  • Two counts aggravated theft of $1.5 million or more
  • One count of bribery
  • Two counts of telecommunications fraud
  • Four counts of money laundering
  • Two counts of tampering with records

Sustainability Funding Alliance of Ohio's criminal charges include:

  • One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
  • Two counts of telecommunications fraud
  • Six counts of money laundering
  • Two counts of aggravated theft

IEU-Ohio Administration's criminal charges include:

  • One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
  • One count of grand theft
  • One count of telecommunications fraud
  • Two counts of money laundering

“This indictment is about more than one piece of legislation,” Yost said. “It is about the hostile capture of a significant portion of Ohio's state government by deception, betrayal and dishonesty. Shout it from the public square to the boardroom, from Wall Street to Broad and High: Those who perversely seek to turn the government to their own private ends will face the destruction of everything they worked for.”

Yost said the state charges stem from an Ohio Organized Crime Ingvstigations Commission task force, which conducted the investigation. The task force was created after a request from the prosecutor of Summit County. 

In March of last year, former House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio GOP chairman Matt Borges were found guilty in the scheme and were charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering. Prosecutors had alleged Householder and Borges had a secret arrangement with FirstEnergy to help pass the $1 billion bailout of the state's two nuclear power plants. 

Three others were charged along with Householder and Borges. Juan Cespedes, a former FirstEnergy lobbyist, and Jeffrey Longstreth, a Republican strategist who worked with Householder, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the investigation. They are currently awaiting sentencing. 

The third charged in the case was lobbyist and former Householder advisor, Neil Clark, who died by suicide in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this article. 

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