KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? As jurors continued to deliberate in the federal fraud trial of two former Westar executives, the judge overseeing the case considered Wednesday whether to force the defendants to repay attorneys’ fees should they lose.

David Wittig, 49, and Douglas Lake, 54, each face 40 charges connected to the alleged looting of the largest electric utility in Kansas. The men have denied wrongdoing, saying their actions were approved by the company’s board of directors and publicly reported.

Wednesday was the fourth day the jury spent deliberating.

If convicted, the two face prison terms of at least 10 years. In addition, the government wants Wittig, Westar Energy Inc.’s former chief executive, to pay $27.9 million and Lake, a former executive vice president, to pay $9.4 million. Those amounts represent money and assets they received while at Westar.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Hathaway also plans to ask the jury to order the two to forfeit legal fees paid for by Westar. Neither Westar officials nor the attorneys for Wittig and Lake have disclosed the total amount Westar has spent to cover the legal bills.

However, Wittig and Lake each have a team of attorneys — many from out of state — and their fees are expected to be in the millions. As of August, Lake alone had listed bills of at least $3.11 million, about half from the criminal case.

During Wednesday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson asked the defense and the plaintiffs to reach an agreement on the amount of attorneys fees that have been paid.

Robinson also discussed leaving it up to the jury to decide whether the attorneys’ fees should be forfeited.

The case is United States of America v. David C. Wittig and Douglas T. Lake, No. 03-cr-40142.