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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is urging Missourians to stay vigilant this holiday season as scammers increasingly target consumers through deceptive and high-pressure gift card schemes. With millions of dollars lost nationwide each year to gift card fraud, Attorney General Hanaway warned that criminals often use fear, urgency, and impersonation tactics to trick victims into sending money that is nearly impossible to recover once redeemed.

“As families across Missouri prepare for the holidays, criminals are preparing too, and they are counting on people being distracted or rushed,” said Attorney General Hanaway. “Our Office will not tolerate scammers who prey on hardworking Missourians, especially during a time of year that should be marked by generosity and joy. We are here to help, and we will continue doing everything we can to protect consumers and shut down fraudulent schemes.”

Gift card scams typically begin with an unexpected call, text, email, or social-media message. Scammers pretend to be government officials, utilities, employers, or even loved ones. They then pressure victims to buy gift cards, often from Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Google Play, Apple, or Amazon, and demand the card number and PIN. Once the scammer has the code, the money is gone. These schemes rely heavily on urgency and fear, and no legitimate organization will ever demand payment by gift card.

Attorney General Hanaway offered the following tips to help Missourians spot and avoid these scams:

• Scammers create false emergencies. They will claim something terrible will happen unless you act immediately. Slow down. If someone demands payment by gift card, it’s a scam.
• Scammers tell you exactly which gift card to buy and where to buy it. They may direct you to Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, or ask for specific cards like Google Play, Apple, Amazon, or eBay. Some even stay on the phone while you shop. Hang up. It’s a scam.
• Scammers will ask for the gift card number and PIN. Once you give those numbers or send a photo, the scammer can drain the funds instantly, even if the card never leaves your hand. Do not share those numbers. It’s a scam.

 

If you have already purchased a gift card and given someone the numbers, you should:

• Report the scam to the gift card company immediately.
• Ask if reimbursement is possible. Some retailers have begun offering support to victims when fraud is caught quickly.

Attorney General Hanaway encouraged anyone who believes they have been targeted or victimized by a scam to contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-392-8222 or file a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 19, 2025 — FirstEnergy Corp.’s Ohio electric companies – Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison and The Illuminating Company – have reached an agreement with parties to settle multiple Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) matters and provide $275 million to FirstEnergy’s Ohio customers.

The settlement resolves four PUCO proceedings – the Corporate Separation, Rider DMR and Rider DCR matters that were the subjects of the PUCO’s Nov. 19 orders and the pending Political and Charitable Spending review. The PUCO’s Nov. 19 orders directed the companies to pay $250 million, with $64 million going to the state general fund. If approved by the PUCO, the settlement will direct all $250 million to all customers and add $25 million exclusively for residential customers.

Torrence Hinton, FirstEnergy President, Ohio: “We appreciate the dedication and collaboration shown by all parties and are grateful for the collective effort that led to an agreement that provides even more dollars to our Ohio customers. With these matters reaching resolution, we’re moving ahead with a clear focus on operating with transparency, delivering reliable service and investing in Ohio communities.”

Key Settlement Details 

Settlement provisions include:

• $250 million in restitution and refunds, credited to customer bills in 2026
• $25 million in additional restitution exclusively to residential customers, including $20 million for low-income bill payment assistance, weatherization and energy efficiency programs

Parties to the settlement include The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group (OMAEG), Ohio Energy Group (OEG), Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), Northwest Ohio Aggregation Coalition (NOAC), Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy (OPAE), Citizens Utility Board of Ohio (CUB Ohio), Interstate Gas Supply, LLC (IGS), Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA), NRG/Direct Energy Services, LLC and Direct Energy Business, LLC, Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association (OCTA) and FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities.

Focused on the Future

Between 2025 and 2029, FirstEnergy plans to invest $14 billion in Ohio’s transmission and distribution infrastructure, workforce and facilities – critical improvements that enhance reliability, support economic growth and prepare for future energy needs. The company looks forward to working constructively with the PUCO and other stakeholders to meet the needs of customers and communities across Ohio.

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company’s transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on X @FirstEnergyCorp or online at firstenergycorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This Letter includes forward-looking statements based on information currently available to management and unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our” and “FirstEnergy” refers to FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiaries. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management’s intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” “forecast,” “target,” “will,” “intend,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “plan” and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the potential liabilities, increased costs and unanticipated developments resulting from government investigations and agreements, including those associated with compliance with or failure to comply with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into July 21, 2021 and settlements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”); the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations and audits regarding Ohio House Bill 6, as passed by Ohio’s 133rd General Assembly (“HB 6”) and related matters, including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters, including, but not limited to, matters relating to rates; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and similar proceedings, particularly regarding HB 6 related matters; changes in national and regional economic conditions, including recession, volatile interest rates, inflationary pressure, supply chain disruptions, higher fuel costs, workforce impacts, affecting us and/or our customers and those vendors with which we do business; variations in weather, such as mild seasonal weather variations and severe weather conditions (including events caused, or exacerbated, by climate change, such as wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, droughts, high wind events and extreme heat events) and other natural disasters, which may result in increased storm restoration expenses or material liability and negatively affect future operating results; the potential liabilities and increased costs arising from regulatory actions or outcomes in response to severe weather conditions and other natural disasters; legislative and regulatory developments, and executive orders, including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, energy regulatory policies, compliance and enforcement activity, cyber security, climate change, and equity and inclusion; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions, and the loss of FirstEnergy Corp.’s status as a well-known seasoned issuer; the risks associated with physical attacks, such as acts of war, terrorism, sabotage or other acts of violence, and cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our, or our vendors’, information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits through establishing a culture of continuous improvement and our other strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, executing Energize365, our transmission and distribution investment plan, executing on our rate filing strategy, controlling costs, improving credit metrics, maintaining investment grade ratings, strengthening our balance sheet and growing earnings; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts may negatively impact our forecasted growth rate, results of operations and may also cause it to make contributions to its pension sooner or in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated; changes in assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, our generation resource planning in West Virginia, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; human capital management challenges, including among other things, attracting and retaining appropriately trained and qualified employees and labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets, including those sites impacted by the legacy coal combustion residual rules that were finalized during 2024, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s reconsideration of such rule; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, federal and state rules related to climate change, and potential changes to such laws and regulations as a result of the U.S. presidential administration; changes in customers’ demand for power, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, the impact of climate change, and emerging technology including artificial intelligence, particularly with respect to electrification, energy storage and distributed sources of generation; future actions taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; the potential of noncompliance with debt covenants in our credit facilities; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, including, but not limited to, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, as signed into law on July 4, 2025, or adverse tax audit results or rulings and potential changes to such laws and regulations; the ability to meet our publicly-disclosed goals relating to climate-related matters, opportunities, improvements, and efficiencies, including FirstEnergy’s Greenhouse gas reduction goals’ and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in FirstEnergy Corp.’s SEC filings. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.’s common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by the FirstEnergy Corp. Board at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in FirstEnergy Corp.’s Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and in other filings with the SEC. The foregoing review of factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy Corp.’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy Corp. expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information incorporated by reference as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

CONTACT: News Media Contact: Jennifer Young, 330-761-4362; Investor Contact: Karen Sagot, 330-761-4286