SCANA Corporation – Nuclear Project Probed
SCANA (NYSE: SCG) – SEC Investigation
On October 17, 2017, the Charlotte Business Journal reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating SCANA’s “handling of the shuttered V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project.”
According to the story, “SCANA announced . . . it has received a document subpoena from the commission. The announcement contains no detail about what documents are requested beyond saying they are [‘]in connection with an investigation they are conducting relating to the new nuclear project at V. C. Summer Nuclear Station[’].”
SCANA Multibillion Nuclear Project Abandoned & Class-Action Lawsuits
The Charlotte Business Journal further reported that
SCANA subsidiary S.C. Electric & Gas owns 55% of the abandoned project to build two 1,117-megawatt nuclear reactors at the existing V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. State-owned utility Santee Cooper owns the remaining 45%.
The expansion was initially projected to cost about $9 billion to complete. It had already cost that much when SCANA and Santee Cooper abandoned the project in July after designer and principal contractor Westinghouse Electric Co. filed bankruptcy. The companies estimated that the cost to complete the project had risen to more than $18 billion, and some estimates of the final price tag at more than $20 billion.
While there is no direct indication what the SEC is investigating, SCANA . . . faces two class-action lawsuits in federal courts alleging violations of U.S. securities law.
. . .
Shareholders have accused the company and some top executives of making misleading and fraudulent statements to investors and the public about the project. Both suits cite repeated instances of the company issuing financial reports or executives answering questions while intentionally withholding information they had that indicated that the project was in serious trouble.
The suits focus on reassuring comments made to investors after SCANA had received a highly critical February 2016 report from consultant Bechtel Corp. that questioned whether Westinghouse had the necessary knowledge and resources to complete the project.
SCANA – South Carolina Attorney General & Others Request Criminal Investigation
On September 26, 2017, The Charlotte Business Journal reported that
South Carolina has started a criminal investigation into the shuttered V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project, asking the State Law Enforcement Division for agents to probe possible violations of state law.
SCANA Corp. filed notice of the investigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday, saying, “The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, the Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and … (other legislative leaders) have requested the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to conduct a criminal investigation.” The filing goes on to say “SCANA … intend(s) to fully cooperate with any potential government investigation of the project.”
The state probe follows hard on the public acknowledgment of an FBI investigation into possible federal crimes. That probe includes grand jury subpoenas issued to SCANA . . . and Santee Cooper for thousands of documents concerning the abandoned nuclear project.
What SCANA Shareholders Can Do?
If you purchased or otherwise acquired SCANA shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to determine whether you may have legal claims against SCANA or SCANA’s directors and officers, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
About Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
