Ex-CEO who oversaw doomed nuclear project to be sentenced

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The enforcement who oversaw a $9 cardinal program to physique 2 atomic reactors successful South Carolina is getting acceptable to spell to prison, much than 4 years aft helium announced the mammoth task had failed without ever generating a watt of power.

Former SCANA Corp. CEO Kevin Marsh has agreed with prosecutors that helium should spend 2 years successful prison. On Thursday, the erstwhile inferior enforcement faces a national justice who volition determine whether to judge that woody and marque him the archetypal enforcement enactment down bars for the atomic vigor task debacle.

Marsh decided to spell up and inquire to service his time, saying his woman of 46 years has incurable bosom crab and helium hopes she is inactive astir and helium tin attraction for her erstwhile helium leaves prison.

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A second erstwhile SCANA executive and an authoritative astatine Westinghouse Electric Co., the pb contractor to physique 2 caller reactors astatine the V.C. Summer plant, person besides pleaded guilty. A 2nd Westinghouse executive has been indicted and is awaiting trial.

Marsh pleaded guilty successful February to conspiracy to perpetrate ligament and message fraud successful national court, and obtaining spot by mendacious pretenses successful authorities court. Prosecutors agreed to his petition to service his full condemnation connected some sets of charges successful a national prison.

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He has already paid $5 cardinal successful restitution. SCANA had paid Marsh $5 cardinal successful 2017, the twelvemonth the inferior abandoned the hopelessly behind-schedule project.

For sentencing, Marsh’s attorneys besides submitted 10 letters from friends, colleagues and religion pastors detailing his bully acts specified arsenic helping the household of an worker killed connected the occupation get fiscal and ineligible help, securing an aerial conditioner for a women’s location and taking a week retired of his engaged enforcement docket to unpaid for abrogation Bible school.

The letters besides elaborate his narration with his wife, Sue, who helium joined erstwhile some were teens. She has terminal and incurable metastatic bosom crab and whitethorn not beryllium capable to sojourn her hubby successful situation due to the fact that of COVID-19 fears and her weakened condition, defence lawyers said.

Federal regulatory filings person documented the past of the doomed atomic task begun successful 2008. Those filings said Marsh ne'er wavered from saying the 2 reactors being built astatine the V.C. Summer tract northbound of Columbia would beryllium finished by the extremity of 2020 — a deadline that had to beryllium met to person the $1.4 cardinal successful national taxation credits needed to support the $10 cardinal task from overwhelming the utility.

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Prosecutors said Marsh lied and presented rosy projections connected the advancement of the reactors that helium knew was mendacious successful earning calls, presentations and property releases. The CEO wanted to support investors pumping wealth into the task and support the company’s banal terms up, they said.

His actions took much than $1 cardinal from the pockets of ratepayers and investors, authorities said successful an 87-page Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed against him and a 2nd enforcement successful 2020.

SCANA and its subsidiary, South Carolina Electric & Gas, were destroyed by the indebtedness and mediocre absorption and were bought retired by Dominion Energy of Virginia successful 2019. State-owned inferior Santee Cooper, which had a 45% involvement successful the project, ended up saddled with $4 cardinal successful indebtedness adjacent though SCANA controlled absorption of the project.

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Follow Jeffrey Collins connected Twitter astatine https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.

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