The Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Summit County Prosecutor's Office announced that a grand jury has reindicted Charles "Chuck" Jones, the former CEO of FirstEnergy, and Michael Dowling, the company's former senior vice president, on public corruption charges.
Jones is charged with the following:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1)
- Two counts of telecommunications fraud (F1)
- One count of conspiracy (F2)
- One count of bribery (F3)
- One count of tampering with evidence (F3)
- Two counts of obstructing justice (F5)
Dowling is charged with:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1)
- Two counts of telecommunications fraud (F1)
- One count of conspiracy (F2)
- One count of bribery (F3)
- 14 counts of tampering with records (F3)
"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. I’m confident that Ohio’s ratepayers will get justice when the facts are unearthed in the courtroom," Attorney General Dave Yost said in a news release.
According to the attorney general's office, Jones and Dowling are accused of carrying out a "large-scale covert scheme to bribe state officials and illegally advance FirstEnergy’s financial interests alongside their own. The defendants are accused of working in concert to 'steal the power of government and bend it to the will of FirstEnergy' and concealing the scheme through false ethics disclosures."
The reindictment was handed down by a Summit County grand jury following a mistrial that ended in March.
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“Manipulating the system for personal gain is a violation of the public’s trust. 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,” said Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich.
Dowling's attorney released the following statement Thursday following the reindictment:
A Summit County jury returned an indictment on June 3, 2026 and unsealed on June 4th charging Michael Dowling and Charles Jones, former senior executives employed by FirstEnergy Corporation. This new indictment restates many of the same charges alleged in an indictment returned in February 2024. That 2024 indictment was the subject of a six-week long jury trial that resulted in a hung jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict on all counts of the indictment following nine days of deliberations in March 2026.
The new indictment expands the scope of the 2024 indictment to include allegations involving former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and new charges against Charles Jones including obstruction and tampering with evidence. Much of the additional information alleged in the new indictment was information that was directly excluded by Judge Baker Ross from admission at the trial against Mr. Dowling and Mr. Jones including specific criminal violations dismissed by Judge Baker Ross.
The timing of the new indictment comes within days of Attorney General Dave Yost leaving office on Monday June 8th, and oral argument before Judge Baker Ross on Dowling’s and Jones’ post-verdict motions for judgement of acquittal to be argued on Friday June 5, 2026.
