Utility executives reindicted on state bribery charges
Jun 05, 2026 | 12:00 pm ET
Description
Defendants former FirstEnergy executives Michael Dowling and Chuck Jones listen to the proceedings on the second day of their trial in Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross's courtroom on Feb. 4, 2026. (Pool photo by Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal.)
Former top executives with a utility involved in one the biggest corruption scandals in Ohio history have been reindicted on state charges, prosecutors announced on Thursday.
Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and Vice President Michael Dowling were indicted by a Summit County Grand Jury on numerous counts, including bribery, conspiracy and fraud. An earlier trial of the two men ended in a hung jury at the end of March.
Outgoing Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Summit County Prosecutor Elliott Kolkovich issued a joint statement announcing the executives’ reindictment.
“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,” the statement quoted Yost as saying. “I’m confident that Ohio’s ratepayers will get justice when the facts are unearthed in the courtroom.”
In a 2023 federal court trial in Cincinnati, federal prosecutors laid out a scheme in which Akron-based FirstEnergy funneled more than $60 million through 501(c)(4) “dark money” groups.
They said the scheme was to elect a Republican majority to the Ohio House of Representatives and make Larry Householder of Glenford speaker in 2019, so he could pass and protect a $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout. Householder is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the conspiracy.
Even after being convicted on federal charges, Householder maintained his innocence. In January, however, the former House speaker’s attorneys said he is open to a plea deal related to his state corruption trial, set to take place in Cuyahoga County this year.
Jones and Dowling ran FirstEnergy during the time of the conspiracy of which Householder was convicted.
In 2021 — after Householder and others were arrested and Jones and Dowling were fired — FirstEnergy paid a $230 million fine and signed a deferred prosecution agreement. The company admitted to paying millions through dark-money groups to Householder in return for Householder “pursuing nuclear legislation for FirstEnergy Corp.’s benefit.”
FirstEnergy also admitted paying a $4.3 million bribe to Sam Randazzo, Gov. Mike DeWine’s first pick to be the state’s top utility regulator. In 2024, Randazzo died by suicide.
The feds didn’t indict Jones and Dowling until Jan. 15, 2025 — after the men had already been indicted on state charges.
No trial date has been set in the federal case. The case seems to be waiting on the state retrial, for which jury selection is expected to start on Sept. 18, according to a May 28 entry in the federal courts record system.
After eight days of deliberation, the jury in the earlier state trial couldn’t agree on whether Jones and Dowling bribed Randazzo.
Yost said 10 of 12 jurors agreed on the former executives’ guilt. But he explained that criminal cases require a unanimous verdict.
The new indictment contains new information, Yost said in a YouTube video linked to in the statement announcing the new indictment.
“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 as a result of a civil lawsuit against FirstEnergy,” it said.
Columbus, OH
