COLUMBUS -- "...a new company regulatory filing says “potential criminal or civil liabilities” related to myriad ongoing federal investigations and lawsuits into Ohio House Bill 6 are among the possible risks to the company’s reputation or financial condition. The company also said in a Friday filing it’s launched an internal process to strengthen its internal governance and compliance measures.

...Acting CEO Steve Strah, who took over after the company fired former CEO Chuck Jones last Thursday, said Monday the company won’t comment while the federal investigations are ongoing. He also said it would be “premature” to say whether FirstEnergy’s ongoing internal review, which began after the SEC subpoena, might find violations by other company officials.

“I think the only thing we can say is the internal investigation by the board and outside counsel led to the outcomes you saw Friday,” Strah said Monday during a conference call with investors. “And that’s the only kind of comment we can make about the past. The dismissal of the executives mentioned were for violations of company policy and codes of conduct.”

Strah’s comments, and FirstEnergy’s identification of possible criminal charges, are a change in tone from the company’s previous conference call in July, led by Jones."

-- Andrew J Tobias, cleveland.com

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