Two former FirstEnergy execs indicted on federal racketeering charges
A federal grand jury has indicted Charles E. Jones, 69, of Akron and Michael Dowling, 60, of Massillon, on one count each of participating in a racketeering (RICO) conspiracy.
According to the Southern District of Ohio, the two are accused of using “bribery, money laundering and obstruction to increase the company’s stock price and enrich themselves.”
From 2015 until 2020, when he was fired, Jones worked as a senior executive within the company, including president and CEO. During that time, authorities say Jones earned around $65 million, with about $60 million coming from performance-based compensation connected partly to FirstEnergy stock prices.
Dowling worked as senior vice president, and his compensation was also tied, in part, to the company’s stock prices.
Both were indicted last year on state charges.
The federal indictment alleges that “Jones and Dowling allegedly acted in support of the RICO conspiracy, including schemes to bribe former Ohio House Representative Larry Householder and former PUCO Chairman Samuel Randazzo.”
Specifically, for a three-year period that ended in 2020, authorities say that FirstEnergy paid nearly $60 million to an organization called Generation Now, a social welfare organization that former Ohio House Rep. Larry Householder controlled.
“The bribe money helped Householder gain the position of Speaker of the House and pass and uphold House Bill 6, a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout to benefit FirstEnergy,” authorities said.
Householder would later be sent to prison for his role in the bribery scheme.
The indictment also accuses Jones and Dowling of pushing for “FirstEnergy-approved appointments to the state public utilities board,” one of which included Randazzo as PUCO chairman.
Randazzo was the PUCO chairman from April 2019 until November 2020, when he resigned. He allegedly received more than $4.3 million from “an energy company and its affiliates to provide favorable actions for the company through PUCO proceedings,” according to the Department of Justice.
Randazzo was eventually indicted on dozens of charges, pleaded not guilty and later died from suicide.
In September 2024, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered FirstEnergy to pay a $100 million civil penalty for misleading investors about its role in the scandal. The month prior, FirstEnergy paid $20 million to avoid criminal charges as part of a deal with state prosecutors.
Jones and Dowling are each facing up to 20 years in prison.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.