COLUMBUS — A federal grand jury indicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four other people accused in a corruption and bribery investigation centered around Ohio House Bill 6.
>>PREVIOUS REPORT: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 4 others arrested in $60 million federal racketeering conspiracy
Householder, along with former Ohio Republican Party chair and consultant Matthew Borges, Neil Clark, founder of Grant Street Consultants, Juan Cespedes, co-founder of The Oxley Group in Columbus, and Jeffrey Longstreth, adviser to Householder, were indicted on racketeering charges stemming from the federal probe into the alleged $60 million bribery scheme, according to court documents made available Thursday.
“Dark money is a breeding ground for corruption. This investigation continues,” David DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio said in a statement posted on social media.
Anyone contemplating using a 501(C)(4) to funnel dark money should read this indictment very carefully. Start on paragraph 38. A 501(C)(4) is not your own private - personal Super PAC. https://t.co/0xh01IooVi
— David DeVillers (@USAttyDeVillers) July 30, 2020
All five accused in the scheme are scheduled to make their next court appearances Aug. 6 at 1:30 p.m. in Columbus.
>> HB6: The bill at the center of Larry Householder’s arrest
The federal investigators accuse Householder of directing a $60 million scheme to build his own power base and, in return, bail out the donors to a dark money campaign fund who run an energy company in northeast Ohio.
Ohio House, without debate or public discussion, removes Larry Householder from the position of Speaker. Details coming at noon @whiotv pic.twitter.com/bH7J9YrnZP
— Jim Otte (@JOtteWHIO) July 30, 2020
>>RELATED: Ohio House votes to remove scandal plagued Householder as speaker
The Ohio House voted unanimously Thursday to remove Householder from his position of speaker.
>>RELATED: Householder bribery case: Cupp appears top choice as House Republicans meet to remove Speaker
This is a developing story and we’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.
Cox Media Group
