House Bill 6 Racketeering Lawsuit Expands, Adds New Defendants

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's House Bill 6 racketeering lawsuit added three new defendants on Thursday: former FirstEnergy CEO Charles Jones, former FirstEnergy Vice President Michael Dowling and former Public Utilities Commissioner Sam Randazzo.

The lawsuit also now seeks $4.3 million from Randazzo, after FirstEnergy admitted it paid him to help construct House Bill 6 while service as the state's regulator, Yost said.

"This is the justice system working, holding bad actors accountable," Yost said. “To restore public trust, everyone involved in this sordid matter needs to pay a price. The goal is to leave no doubt – among politicians, the powerful and the rich – that engaging in public corruption will ruin you."

FirstEnergy signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice in late July. As part of that agreement, the company admitted to wrongdoing in its House Bill 6 involvement. FirstEnergy also acknowledged it used tax-exempt organizations to funnel money to elected officials to influence the vote on House Bill 6, the Department of Justice said. Using the tax-exempt organizations allowed FirstEnergy to conceal its payments to elected officials, the Department of Justice added.

Yost's lawsuit now adds allegations against Randazzo, Dowling, and Jones, accusing them of coercion, intimidation, money laundering, and trying to cover-up their wrongdoing, he said.

"This is a humbling moment for our company. And we should take this moment to recognize that this type of conduct, at the highest levels in the company, was wrong and unacceptable. We have to ensure that something like this never happens again," said FirstEnergy President and CEO Steve Strah in a statement after the deferred prosecution agreement was announced.

House Bill 6 provided a $1.3 billion bailout for two FirstEnergy nuclear plants (now Energy Harbor plants) in Ohio. The legislation is now at the heart of a racketeering investigation involving Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and other political figures.