FirstEnergy Rises on $230 Million Settlement in Bribery Case

  • Company reached agreement with federal prosecutors in Ohio
  • FirstEnergy admitted to role in scheme to bail out nuke plants
Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg
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FirstEnergy Corp. surged the most in more than five months Thursday after the Ohio utility reached an agreement with federal prosecutors over a corruption case involving a $1 billion state bailout for nuclear power plants.

Under a deferred-prosecution agreement announced Thursday, FirstEnergy admitted that it conspired with public officials and others to pay millions of dollars in bribes. The company agreed to pay $230 million, the largest criminal penalty ever imposed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.