Republican Attorney General Dave Yost asked a federal court Monday to temporarily halt payouts in a bankruptcy case involving two nuclear plants caught up in a $60 million bribery and corruption probe.
Yost said the arrests of then-House Speaker Larry Householder and four associates in an alleged pay-to-play scheme surrounding a nuclear bailout bill raises concerns that plant operator Energy Harbor "may not have entered into the bankruptcy with clean hands.”
Separately, FirstEnergy, the plant operator's former parent, made clear it is the “Company A" mentioned in the federal indictment. Its quarterly report warned it can't predict the probe's financial impacts on its business.
State legislators from both parties are seeking to overturn the nuclear law. Gov. Mike DeWine said he still supports the policy, but said the law was "tainted" and should be repealed and replaced.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, David DeVillers, says the $61-million racketeering enterprise dates back to March 2017. He says Householder created a 501(c)(4) group called Generation Now to launder money contributed by FirstEnergy Solutions.
