Utility will pay $20 million to avoid prosecution in Ohio bribery scheme

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The energy company at the center of a $60 million bribery scheme in Ohio will pay $20 million and avoid criminal charges as part of a deal with state prosecutors to resolve its role in the scandal. Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. announced the deal Tuesday, a day after it filed the agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It calls for the company to cooperate with the ongoing investigations being conducted by the state attorney general and the Summit County prosecutor’s office and also settles FirstEnergy’s involvement in a civil lawsuit filed by the attorney general in 2020.