CLEVELAND — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday that a grand jury has indicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on 10 state felony counts related to the bribery scandal surrounding House Bill 6.
The 64-year-old Householder is already serving 20 years in prison after being convicted for bribery and racketeering in federal court, but filed an appeal last month.
“This case seeks to hold Mr. Householder accountable for his actions under state law, and I expect that the results will permanently bar him from public service in Ohio,” Yost said. “State crimes have state penalties, and a conviction will ensure that there will be no more comebacks from the ‘Comeback Kid.’”
According to Yost's office, Householder was indicted on the following counts:
- One count of theft in office (F1)
- Two counts of aggravated theft (F2)
- One count of telecommunications fraud (F2)
- One count of money laundering (F3)
- Five counts of tampering with records (F3)
Householder is scheduled to be arraigned in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on May 13 after his original April 12 date was canceled.
Yost's office says if Householder is convicted of theft in office, he would be disqualified from "public office, public employment or a position of trust in the state." They add that the conviction on federal charges do not legally prevent Householder from making another run for public office.
The state indictment alleges that Householder "misused campaign funds to pay for his personal criminal defense in his federal case." In addition, officials says he failed to accurately complete Joint Legislative Ethics Committee filings. "Specifically, records show that he did not disclose fiduciary relationships, creditors and gifts – including those related to fraudulent activity surrounding House Bill 6, legislation that benefitted FirstEnergy," Yost's office added.
The state charges announced Monday were filed in Cuyahoga County, where the financial transactions in question allegedly occurred. You can watch Yost's briefing on the indictment below:
Last month, Yost announced an indictment with 27 combined counts of felony violations against the following:
- Samuel "Sam" Randazzo, former PUCO chairman
- Charles "Chuck" Jones, former CEO of FirstEnergy
- Michael Dowling, former FirstEnergy Senior Vice President of External Affairs
- Two companies allegedly controlled by Randazzo — the Sustainability Funding Alliance of Ohio and Industrial Energy Users-Ohio Administration Co.
A pretrial hearing on Zoom has been set for April 19. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross set bond for all three men at $100,000 and ordered them to remain in Ohio under GPS monitoring.
Previous Reporting:
- Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder appeals conviction in $60 million HB 6 scandal
- Former FirstEnergy executives, ex-state regulator plead not guilty to new indictments in House Bill 6 bribery scandal
- Fresh bailout and bribery indictments raise questions about what Ohio Gov. DeWine knew and when