Federal investigators are tightening their noose on executives responsible for a failed nuclear project.

Former Santee Cooper CEO Lonnie Carter was interviewed in an ongoing criminal investigation into the failed $9 billion nuclear construction project.

Lawsuits against Santee Cooper and its partner SC Electric & Gas contend mismanagement cost ratepayers more than $2 billion.

This indicates a secretive criminal investigation may yet produce charges against the executives who mismanaged it and retired with millions of ratepayers’ dollars.

Hiding failures from investors can lead to convictions that may send SCE&G executives such as Kevin Marsh, Jimmy Addison and Steve Byrne to prison.

The secret discussion was discovered and reported by The State newspaper.

Investigators want to know what the utilities’ executives knew about the project’s failures, when they knew it, and whether they lied to investors, bondholders and the Public Service Commission about cost overruns and delays.

Both utilities promised lawmakers the project would lower rates and cut down on air pollution but were never finished. The FBI, US Attorneys Office, SC Attorney General, State Law Enforcement Division and US Securities and Exchange Commission opened investigations months after the utilities abandoned the $9 billion project 2 years ago.

Civil lawsuit attorneys say SCE&G executives kept the failing project going to raise electric rates and pay themselves millions in bonuses.

Carter who retired with a multi-million dollar package of his own is not believed to be a suspect, sources told The State newspaper.

As a cooperative witness, he may be helping investigators build cases against SCE&G executives who lied to regulators, sources said.

Santee Cooper is paying lawyer Greg Harris $475 an hour to represent Carter.

SCE&G’s new owner, Dominion Energy, said it is helping investigators.