An energy company at the center of a $60 million bribery scheme in Ohio, FirstEnergy Corp., has been directed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to pay a $100 million civil penalty for misleading investors about its involvement in the scandal. The Akron-based company was found to have violated antifraud provisions by misrepresenting its role in the political corruption scheme and failing to disclose related payments, as per the SEC.
The SEC's cease and desist order highlighted that the utility's former CEO had made a series of misrepresentations to investors in a news release and during a July 2020 earnings conference call. This action follows FirstEnergy's agreement to pay $20 million to avoid criminal charges in a deal with state prosecutors.
