2020-02-27 sec-litreleases litigation_release 66 KB 2,679 chars

SEC v. SCANA Corporation; Kevin Marsh; Stephen Byrne; and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., No. LR-24751, District of South Carolina (Feb. 27, 2020) — Press Release

raw: SCANA Corporation, et al.

SCANA Corporation, et al., No. 3:20-CV-00882-MGL (Feb. 27, 2020)

Caption
Securities and Exchange Commission v. SCANA Corporation, et al.
summary

SCANA Corp., its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice President Stephen Byrne, and subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. are accused of defrauding investors by making false statements about a nuclear power plant expansion, resulting in a boosted stock price, the sale of over $1 billion in bonds, and regulatory approval to raise customers' rates.

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SCANA Corp., its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice President Stephen Byrne, and subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. are accused of defrauding investors by making false statements about a $9 billion nuclear power plant expansion. The alleged fraud involved misleading investors about the project's progress to qualify for over $1 billion in tax credits. The defendants are charged with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933.

narrative

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged SCANA Corp., its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice President Stephen Byrne, and subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about a $9 billion nuclear power plant expansion. The defendants allegedly misled investors about the project's progress to qualify for over $1 billion in tax credits, despite internal knowledge that it was significantly behind schedule and unlikely to succeed. The false statements and omissions enabled SCANA to boost its stock price, sell over $1 billion in bonds, and obtain regulatory approval to raise customers' rates to finance the project. The project was ultimately abandoned in mid-2017 with neither nuclear unit completed. The SEC alleges violations of Sections 10(b), 17(a), and 13(a) of the federal securities laws, along with related rules, including false certifications by Marsh. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with interest, civil penalties, and officer/director bars against Marsh and Byrne.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
corporate-fraud (95%)
Court
District of South Carolina
Case No.
3:20-CV-00882-MGL
Outcome
charged
Victim loss
$1,000,000,000
Entity
SCANA Corporation
Ticker
SCG
CIK
0000754737
Classified corporate-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms 10-K/10-Q/8-K· recall 56% / precision 8%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionSCANA CorporationKevin MarshStephen ByrneSouth Carolina Electric & Gas Co.
Keywords
scanasouth carolinascana corporationsecurities exchangeexchangemarshprojectsecuritiessouthcarolinasceallegesfebruary securitiesexchange commissioncommission scana

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $1.00B $1 billion ≥$1B
Entities 7
  • company dominion energy south carolina inc.
  • company scana corp.
  • company scana corporation
  • agency sec's complaint
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • organization Securities and Exchange Commission
  • unknown scana
Triples 23
  • Securities and Exchange Commission charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G)
  • SCANA Corp. defrauded investors
  • SCANA Corp. made false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion
  • SEC's complaint alleges SCANA, its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice Pres
  • SCANA Corporation charged with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion that was ultimately abandoned
  • SEC alleges that SCANA, its former CEO Kevin Marsh, and former Executive Vice President made false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion
  • SCANA Corporation is now known as Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G)
  • SCANA made false statements about a nuclear power plant expansion
  • SCANA abandoned nuclear power plant expansion
  • former CEO Kevin Marsh made misleading statements about nuclear power plant expansion
  • SCE&G was known as Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc.
  • SEC filed lawsuit Securities and Exchange Commission v. SCANA Corporation, et al., No. 3:20-CV-00882-MGL
  • SCANA defrauded investors by making false and misleading statements
  • Securities and Exchange Commission charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (now Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc.)
  • SCANA Corp. defrauded investors
  • SCANA Corp. made false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion that was ultimately abandoned
  • Securities and Exchange Commission charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.
  • SCANA Corp. made false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion
  • Kevin Marsh served as former CEO of SCANA
  • South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. known as Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission filed complaint against SCANA, its former CEO Kevin Marsh, and former Executive Vice President
  • SCANA abandoned nuclear power plant expansion
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,679c)
Litigation Release No. 24751 / February 27, 2020 Securities and Exchange Commission v. SCANA Corporation, et al., No. 3:20-CV-00882-MGL (D.S.C., Filed February 27, 2020) The Securities and Exchange Commission charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), now known as Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion that was ultimately abandoned. The SEC's complaint alleges that SCANA, its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice President Stephen Byrne, and subsidiary SCE&G misled investors about a project to build two nuclear units that would qualify the company for more than $1 billion in tax credits. According to the complaint, the defendants claimed that the project was on track even though they knew it was far behind schedule, making it unlikely to qualify for the tax credits. The complaint further alleges one SCANA executive said that officers of the company "flew around the country showing the same . . . construction pictures from different angles and played our fiddles" while the project itself "was going up in flames." SCANA abandoned the project in mid-2017 with neither nuclear unit completed. The complaint alleges that the false statements and omissions enabled SCANA to boost its stock price, sell more than $1 billion in bonds, and obtain regulatory approval to raise customers' rates to finance the project. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in South Carolina, charges SCANA, SCE&G, Marsh, and Byrne with violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The complaint also alleges violations of the reporting provisions of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13 thereunder by SCANA and SCE&G, and charges Marsh with aiding and abetting those violations. Finally, Marsh was charged with violating Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of alleged ill-gotten gains along with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties from all defendants, and an officer and director bar against Marsh and Byrne. The SEC's investigation was conducted by John O'Halloran and supervised by Natalie Brunson and Justin Jeffries of the Atlanta Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Graham Loomis and H.B. Roback. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this matter. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,679c · html-text · 99% conf)
Litigation Release No. 24751 / February 27, 2020 Securities and Exchange Commission v. SCANA Corporation, et al., No. 3:20-CV-00882-MGL (D.S.C., Filed February 27, 2020) The Securities and Exchange Commission charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), now known as Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about a nuclear power plant expansion that was ultimately abandoned. The SEC's complaint alleges that SCANA, its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice President Stephen Byrne, and subsidiary SCE&G misled investors about a project to build two nuclear units that would qualify the company for more than $1 billion in tax credits. According to the complaint, the defendants claimed that the project was on track even though they knew it was far behind schedule, making it unlikely to qualify for the tax credits. The complaint further alleges one SCANA executive said that officers of the company "flew around the country showing the same . . . construction pictures from different angles and played our fiddles" while the project itself "was going up in flames." SCANA abandoned the project in mid-2017 with neither nuclear unit completed. The complaint alleges that the false statements and omissions enabled SCANA to boost its stock price, sell more than $1 billion in bonds, and obtain regulatory approval to raise customers' rates to finance the project. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in South Carolina, charges SCANA, SCE&G, Marsh, and Byrne with violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The complaint also alleges violations of the reporting provisions of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13 thereunder by SCANA and SCE&G, and charges Marsh with aiding and abetting those violations. Finally, Marsh was charged with violating Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of alleged ill-gotten gains along with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties from all defendants, and an officer and director bar against Marsh and Byrne. The SEC's investigation was conducted by John O'Halloran and supervised by Natalie Brunson and Justin Jeffries of the Atlanta Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Graham Loomis and H.B. Roback. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this matter. SEC Complaint