FirstEnergy Corp. has been charged federally with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and has agreed to pay a $230 million monetary penalty, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
The company signed a deferred prosecution agreement that could potentially result in the dismissal of the charge. DOJ said in the release.
The charge and agreement stem from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s ongoing public corruption prosecutions, DOJ said. In today’s court filings, DOJ said the FirstEnergy Corp., an Akron, Ohio-based public utility holding company, admits it conspired with public officials and other individuals and entities to pay millions of dollars to public officials in exchange for specific official action for FirstEnergy Corp.’s benefit.
FirstEnergy Corp. has cooperated substantially with the government, and according to the deferred prosecution agreement, the company must continue to cooperate fully with the United States in all matters related to the company’s conduct described in the agreement and other conduct under investigation by the government, among other obligations, according to the release.
Other obligations include:
- Within 60 days of Thursday’s filing, FirstEnergy Corp. must pay $115 million to the United States and $115 million to the Ohio Development Service Agency’s Percentage of Income Payment Plus Plan, a program that provides assistance to Ohioans in paying their regulated utility bills.
- Publicly disclosing on its website any FirstEnergy Corp. contributions to 501(c)(4) entities and entities known by FirstEnergy Corp. to be operating for the benefit of a public official, either directly or indirectly, and making various provisions to improve corporate compliance moving forward.
FirstEnergy released a statement from President and Chief Executive Officer Steven Strah in regards to the charges:
FirstEnergy’s core values and behaviors include integrity, openness, and trust. As an organization, we are redoubling our commitment to live up to these values and the standards that we know our stakeholders expect of us. Moving forward, we are intently focused on fostering a strong culture of compliance and ethics, starting at the top, and ensuring we have robust processes in place to prevent the type of misconduct that occurred in the past.
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charge and agreement. Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter and Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Singer are representing the United States in this case, the DOJ said in the release.
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