FE · 10-Q · 2026Q1 · Full report
DPA and Criminal Proceedings
FIRSTENERGY CORP · 2026-04-28 · Importance 65 · Surprise 60
On July 21, 2021 FirstEnergy entered into a three-year Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office resolving the company’s criminal exposure subject to court proceedings. Under the DPA FirstEnergy agreed to a criminal monetary penalty totaling $230 million, consisting of $115 million to the U.S. Treasury and $115 million to the Ohio ODSA to fund assistance programs for low-income Ohio customers; the full $230 million was recognized as an expense in Q2 2021 and paid in Q3 2021. FirstEnergy stated the $230 million payment will neither be recovered in rates nor claimed as a tax deduction. FirstEnergy completed the three-year DPA obligations as of July 22, 2024 but remains subject to continuing reporting, cooperation and publication obligations and the U.S. Attorney filed a status report on February 26, 2025 confirming those commitments.
Key facts
- Corporate/Other results included $11 million (after-tax) of higher investigation and other related costs associated with ongoing government investigations and litigation in the first three months of 2026 compared to 2025.
- On January 17, 2025 a federal grand jury charged two former FirstEnergy senior officers with one count of participating in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act conspiracy.
- Certain FE stockholders and FirstEnergy customers filed several lawsuits related to the Householder matter, including In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litigation where on March 30, 2023 the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, the Sixth Circuit vacated that class certification order on August 13, 2025, and the S.D. Ohio held oral argument on November 6, 2025 to further consider class certification.
- FirstEnergy believes that it is probable that it will incur a loss in connection with the In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litigation and related purported stockholder suits but cannot yet reasonably estimate a loss or range of loss.
Impact estimates
| metric | direction | stage | expected | basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| net_income | negative | realized | -0.3% | Corporate/Other results included $11 million (after-tax) of higher investigation and other related costs associated with ongoing… |
| liability | negative | contingent | — | On January 17, 2025 a federal grand jury charged two former FirstEnergy senior officers with one count of participating in a Racketeer… |
| liability | negative | probable | — | FirstEnergy believes that it is probable that it will incur a loss in connection with the In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litigation… |