A Business Executive Who Was Charged Over a Failed Nuclear Project Pleads ‘Not Guilty’
A business executive charged in the aftermath of a failed multibillion-dollar project to build two nuclear reactors in South Carolina pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday.
Jeffrey A. Benjamin was a former senior vice president for Westinghouse Electric Co., the lead contractor to build two new reactors at the V.C. Summer plant. South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. parent company SCANA Corp. and state-owned utility company Santee Cooper spent nearly $10 billion on the project before halting construction in 2017 after Westinghouse’s bankruptcy.
Benjamin now faces 16 felony charges, including multiple counts of fraud, according to an indictment.
His lawyer, William Sullivan, told The State newspaper that federal prosecutors “have brought baseless charges against Mr. Benjamin, relying on a witness who has already admitted under oath to falsely accusing Mr. Benjamin.”
