An Ohio federal court sentenced former Ohio Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder on Thursday to 20 years in prison for leading a complex racketeering and bribery scheme. Householder allegedly accepted over $60 million in bribes through the scheme by working to pass a nuclear plant bailout. Matt Borges, former Ohio Republican Party Chair, was also sentenced to five years in prison Friday for his role in the scheme.
US Attorney Kenneth Parker condemned Householder’s actions, saying:
Larry Householder led a criminal enterprise responsible for one of the largest public corruption conspiracies in Ohio history. Elected officials owe a duty to provide honest services to their constituents – transparency, integrity and accountability are foundational principles of democracy. Householder once held one of the three most powerful offices in the State of Ohio. Now, because of his corruption, he will serve a substantial prison sentence.
Householder allegedly pushed a $1.5 billion bailout for two Ohio nuclear plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., through the Ohio legislature in return for $60 million in “dark money” from Generation Now. Generation Now is a non-profit that allegedly worked as a funnel, allowing the “donations” made by FirstEnergy Corp to remain undocumented. The money allegedly passed through multiple organizations to make the funds’ origin even more opaque. Team Householder funded the elections of 21 politicians in 2018. Everyone elected from Team Householder supported Householder in becoming speaker, and all but one voted for the bailout.
Householder was arrested in 2020, along with Juan Cespedes and Neil Clark, lobbyists who allegedly furthered the scheme, Borges and Householder adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, who was also the president and secretary of Generation Now. Householder and Borges were found guilty of racketeering in March.
FirstEnergy Corp., the company that allegedly benefited from the scheme, conducted an internal investigation. Following the investigation, the company removed several members of corporate leadership including Chuck Jones, the former CEO, and two Senior Vice Presidents. The company alleged in US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, “During the course of the Company’s internal investigation related to the ongoing government investigations…the Committee determined that each of the terminated executives violated certain Company policies and its code of conduct.” The company has since severed FirstEnergy Solutions from its corporate structure, with FirstEnergy Solutions declaring bankruptcy and eventually changing its name to Energy Harbor.
FirstEnergy has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and paid a $230 million penalty for its involvement. No executives have been charged with any crimes for their involvement in the scheme. Jones, the CEO during the scheme, has disputed his involvement, saying, “As I have said many times, conducting our business ethically and acting with integrity and honesty are foundational principles for the entire FirstEnergy family as well as me personally.” Shareholders of FirstEnergy Corp have alleged that Jones himself ordered the commencing of the scheme. The company disclosed in a 2021 quarterly report that they are attempting to “claw back” $56 million from Jones for his involvement in the scheme.
Former Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Sam Randazzo has also been accused in FirstEnergy Corp.’s deferred prosecution agreement, referred to as “Public Official B,” of receiving $4.3 million from FirstEnergy Corp. Randazzo has not yet been charged with a crime. He was a former consultant for FirstEnergy Corp. Randazzo resigned after his condo was searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in 2020. In a statement Randazzo denied wrongdoing.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was allegedly warned before he appointed Randazzo that he had “opaque” ties to FirstEnergy Corp. According to IRS filings and campaign finance disclosures, DeWine received $1 million in campaign donations from First Energy Corp.
