The Akron-based electric provider for Ohio - FirstEnergy Corp. - has announced a $20 million settlement to avoid facing charges with Ohio Attorney General David Yost and the Summit County prosecutor's office over the bribery scandal involving public officials and utility company officials between 2010 and 2021.

The agreement announced Tuesday, states that First Energy will pay $19.5 million to the Ohio Attorney General's Office for whatever the office deems proper "which may include, without limitation, a charitable law fund established under O.R.C. § 109.32 to be distributed to a non-energy charitable organization to be determined by the Office of the Ohio Attorney General, and the reimbursement of the time and expenses of the Summit County Prosecutor, the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission in conducting their investigation."

The additional $500,000 will be set aside for an independent consultant to fund FirstEnergy's ethics compliance and remediation efforts.

In total, FirstEnergy has paid $250 million - $20 million announced Tuesday, along with a $230 million monetary penalty ($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).

Attorney Marc Dann and former Ohio Attorney General reacted to the news of the settlement with the utility provider, saying, "We really made no changes at the state level on how we oversee lobbying and influence-peddling in Columbus."

Dann added, "I think the AG could have done a little better in terms of the outcome with First Energy, but it takes an impediment away from the prosecution of their case against the executives... I don't think people will stop trying to engage in pay-to-play lobbying until the guys in the thousand-dollar suits go to jail."

The agreement stems from the bribery scandal that led to indictments against multiple FirstEnergy officials for their alleged role in the House Bill 6 scandal, including Samuel Randazzo, former PUCO chairman; Charles Jones, former CEO of First Energy; Michael Dowling, First Energy senior vice president of external affairs; and former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for accepting nearly $60 million in bribes from the utility company to get Hosue Bill 6, a nuclear bailout paid for by Ohio residents, passed.

21 News reached out to FirstEnergy and was provided a written statement that states, "We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Summit County Prosecutor, which recognizes the substantial actions FirstEnergy has taken to establish a highly effective compliance program and instill a culture of ethics and integrity at every level of the organization," said Brian X. Tierney, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "FirstEnergy, led by a new Board of Directors and executive team, is a stronger organization today, energized by our commitments to our stakeholders and well positioned for the future. As we move forward, our focus is investing in our regulated electric companies to improve the customer experience and to meet their energy needs today and into the future."

Ohio AG spokesperson Steve Irvin told 21 News, ""The non-prosecution agreement signed between FirstEnergy, the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Summit County Prosecuting Attorney requires FirstEnergy to provide evidence, access to witnesses and testimony in the ongoing criminal cases against Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling, as well as in civil proceeding relating to the passage of House Bill 6. FirstEnergy today is not the company it was five years ago – the corporation has undertaken, and continues to undergo, reforms to strengthen its internal ethics programs, to increase transparency, and promote reporting of questionable conduct by its employees and leadership. It has also restructured its board and leadership to remove the individuals responsible for the conduct that gave rise to the House Bill 6 scandal. This is an important step in bringing the disgraced corporate leaders who used their positions of power to betray FirstEnergy's ratepayers and employees and the people of Ohio to account for their crimes."

FirstEnergy admitted to bribing Householder and Randazzo in 2021 and paid a $231 million fine to federal prosecutors. Randazzo was indicted in March and committed suicide in April.

The agreement requires FirstEnergy to cooperate with officials for two years or "until any current investigation, litigation, or prosecution" has concluded.

"I think it clears the path for those prosecutions of the executives. And I think that would be a landmark day," Dann said.