U.S. prosecutors are reportedly considering filing criminal charges against BP employees over the U.K. energy giant’s role in the worst offshore oil spill in American history. According to The Wall Street Journal, federal officials may disclose felony charges early next year against employees who may have provided false information to regulators about the risks tied to the Gulf of Mexico well while drilling was ongoing. The charges would mark the first criminal charges stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident, which killed 11 people, injured 17 and caused almost 5 million barrels of crude oil to spill. A conviction would call for up to five years in prison in addition to a fine, the paper said. This article is a linkout.