On March 9, 2023, a Cincinnati jury found former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder guilty of racketeering charges in relation to the House Bill 6 scandal alongside former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges. The verdict marks the end of what federal prosecutors have called “the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio.”

House Bill 6 was an Ohio bill that proposed a $1.3 billion bailout of First Energy, which would also allegedly bring down utility costs (in actuality, the state of Ohio paid an estimated $230,000 a day under the bill and raised electricity costs). In the meantime, First Energy paid out over $61 million in bribes through various dark money groups to various Ohio officials, predominantly Householder and Borges. In June 2020, Householder and several others were officially arrested for their part in the scandal and, in March 2021, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine repealed several key components of HB6.

This marks a likely end to the Perry County Republican’s long political career in Columbus. Householder, who served as Ohio Speaker of the House twice, was expelled from the House in June 2021 through a bipartisan vote (he had been unchallenged for reelection after his arrest). This marked the second time that Householder’s tenure as Speaker ended in scandal, as he was under federal investigation for his alleged involvement in a pay-to-play scheme, though the investigation was dropped without any charges.

Several associates in the scandal testified against Householder and Borges including First Energy lobbyist Juan Cespedes and Householder advisor Jeff Longstreth who each took plea deals in exchange for their testimony. Tyler Fehrman, a close friend of Borges, first notified the FBI of misconduct. He wore a wire when talking to Borges and was instrumental in building the case against the two. Lastly, lobbyist Neil Clark unknowingly led prosecutors to Householder through a separate corruption case. However, in March 2021, Clark committed suicide before he could testify. The jury deliberated for only nine hours across two days. Both Householder and Borges face up to 20 years in federal prison.

State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, a John Carroll alum, spoke in favor of the proposed Ohio Anti-Corruption Act after the announcement of the Householder verdict, emphasizing the importance of avoiding and preventing this type of scandal.

“Today, the people’s faith in the legal system was upheld. But our state laws remain too weak to stop corrupt, uncontrolled spending by dark money groups who want to keep buying elected officials and legislation to enrich themselves,” she said. “Ohio needs and deserves stronger anti-corruption laws…to stop corruption in its tracks and end the outsized influence of secret interests with secret agendas in Ohio’s elections.”