AKRON, Ohio — Two former top executives at FirstEnergy have been reindicted by a Summit County grand jury for their alleged roles in the sweeping House Bill 6 public corruption scandal, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich announced today.
The new charges come just months after a two-month trial against the pair ended in a mistrial this past March due to a deadlocked jury.
“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,” AG Yost said. “I’m confident that Ohio’s ratepayers will get justice when the facts are unearthed in the courtroom.”
22 Felony Counts Leveling Corruption and Bribery Charges
The grand jury handed down a combined 22 felony counts against Charles “Chuck” Jones, the former CEO of FirstEnergy, and Michael Dowling, the company’s former senior vice president of external affairs. The state’s indictment alleges that five of those charges directly name both defendants.
The individual charges are broken down as follows:
Charles “Chuck” Jones faces eight felony counts:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (First-Degree Felony)
- Two counts of telecommunications fraud (First-Degree Felony)
- One count of conspiracy (Second-Degree Felony)
- One count of bribery (Third-Degree Felony)
- One count of tampering with evidence (Third-Degree Felony)
- Two counts of obstructing justice (Fifth-Degree Felony)
Michael Dowling faces 19 felony counts:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (First-Degree Felony)
- Two counts of telecommunications fraud (First-Degree Felony)
- One count of conspiracy (Second-Degree Felony)
- One count of bribery (Third-Degree Felony)
- 14 counts of tampering with records (Third-Degree Felony)
A Decade-Long Scheme to ‘Bend the Will of Government’
According to the indictment, Jones and Dowling operated as part of a criminal enterprise between 2010 and 2021. Prosecutors allege the executives orchestrated a massive, covert scheme to bribe state officials to illegally advance FirstEnergy’s corporate financial interests alongside their own personal stock values.
The indictment explicitly accuses the defendants of working in concert to “steal the power of government and bend it to the will of FirstEnergy,” while actively hiding the multi-million dollar scheme through fraudulent ethics disclosures.
“Manipulating the system for personal gain is a violation of the public’s trust,” Summit County Prosecutor Kolkovich said. “We will continue to work with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to prosecute these alleged crimes and ensure justice is served for all Ohio communities.”
Case Origins and Next Steps
Jones and Dowling were originally indicted in February 2024 alongside Samuel “Sam” Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Randazzo died by suicide prior to the initial trial.
Following the deadlocked jury in March, state prosecutors utilized the opportunity to retry the case, with Yost noting that the new indictment incorporates additional facts uncovered by investigators.
The complex investigation was spearheaded by a specialized task force under the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, formed at the request of the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office will co-prosecute the upcoming trial alongside Summit County authorities.
As with all criminal indictments, these charges remain allegations. Both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
