A former CEO of FirstEnergy Corp. and another former company executive have been indicted on federal charges related to a yearslong investigation into a bribery scheme in Ohio.
A federal grand jury indicted Charles "Chuck" Jones Jr., 69, and Michael Dowling, 60, on one count each of participating in a racketeering conspiracy, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio said in a Jan. 17 news release. Jones and Dowling could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Jones served as FirstEnergy's CEO for more than five years until his termination in October 2020. Dowling was fired on the same day from his role as the company's senior vice president of external affairs. They are accused of exploiting their roles for personal gain.
Carole Rendon, an attorney for Chuck Jones, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the indictment. Dowling also could not be reached for comment.
The 42-page indictment handed down Jan. 15 says Jones and Dowling engaged in a "pattern of racketeering activity — including bribery, money laundering and obstruction — to increase the company's stock price and enrich themselves," the US Attorney's Office wrote in the news release.
US Attorney Kenneth Parker pointed out that about $60 million of Jones' approximately $65 million in compensation as a senior executive "came from performance-based pay tied, in part, to FirstEnergy stock prices." Dowling's compensation also was similarly tied to the company's financial performance.
The indictment details how between 2017 and March 2020, FirstEnergy Service Co. paid more than $59 million to Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) organization that Jones and Dowling "knew was operated for the benefit of and controlled by" Larry Householder, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives who later became speaker.
Householder and four associates were charged in a July 2020 federal complaint with funneling millions of dollars in bribes through Generation Now to ensure the enactment of House Bill 6, a now largely repealed law primarily designed to bail out two merchant nuclear plants that were owned by FirstEnergy.
"It was part of the conspiracy that Jones and Dowling agreed to pay Householder and to fund Householder's bid for Ohio Speaker of the House in exchange for Householder performing specific official action to support the nuclear plants and to benefit the enterprise and the defendants," the indictment reads.
In June 2023, Householder and Mathew Borges, former head of the state's Republican party, were sentenced to 20 years and five years in federal prison, respectively, for their involvement in the scandal.
Two other defendants pleaded guilty in October 2020. Lobbyist Neil Clark, another defendant, was found dead in March 2021 in Florida.
Federal authorities in July 2021 charged FirstEnergy with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud for the company's role in the scheme.
As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, FirstEnergy paid a $230 million fine and agreed to meet obligations including compliance improvements and timely disclosure of any records, evidence or testimony sought by the government.
FirstEnergy also admitted to wiring $4.3 million in January 2019 to a company owned by Samuel Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Randazzo was found dead in April 2024 in a suspected suicide about two months after being indicted on numerous state charges stemming from the nuclear plant bailout and efforts to influence policy favorable to FirstEnergy. Jones and Dowling were named in the same indictment.
FirstEnergy spokesperson Jennifer Young said the company cannot comment on the federal grand jury's indictment of Jones and Dowling. Young emphasized that FirstEnergy is now a "different, stronger company that has taken significant steps to move forward."
"We have reconstituted our senior leadership team, instilled a culture of ethics, integrity and accountability at every level of the organization, and successfully completed the obligations required within the three-year term under the deferred prosecution agreement," Young said. "We are well positioned for the long term."
