(RALEIGH) -- Duke Energy is facing trouble from North Carolina regulators following its last-minute decision to swap CEOs. North Carolina's attorney general wants documents and all communications from inside Duke Energy to determine whether consumers were misled prior to the merger.

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson was supposed to lead the new Duke Energy following the merger, but resigned by mutual agreement just hours after the companies combined. Despite his short lived position, he could leave with up to 44.4 million dollars in exit pay.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's Financial Services has placed Duke's A- credit rating on its Credit-Watch with negative implications "in response to abrupt change in executive leadership."