The owner of a pair of Plainville electrical-mechanical contractors was convicted Wednesday of stealing more than $3.3 million from his workers’ pension plans, authorities said.
Lee T. Ferguson, 62, of Farmington, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to one count of money laundering, the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Free on $50,000 bond, Ferguson faces up to a decade in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 24.
According to investigators, the owner-operator of Ferguson Electric Inc. and Ferguson Mechanical Inc., between around 2013 and 2017, coordinated deductions of an estimated $1.60 to $3.15 per hour from each of his employee’s fringe benefits package as a “third party administrator fee” for managing their pension plans. Â
Ferguson knew, prosecutors said, that the funds were not used to cover any administrative fees for the employees’ pension plans. Instead, the fictitious fees were remitted to TPA of Connecticut, a company that Ferguson set up and controlled.Â
TPA, in turn, sent the money to DJS Associates, a Florida company that Ferguson allegedly created to provide business-consulting services to him and his companies, authorities said. However, no such services were performed and Ferguson used the funds for personal expenses.
Through this scheme, Ferguson stole $3.3 million from more than 300 employees, authorities said.
Ferguson, in an emailed statement through a spokesman, again admitted his culpability. He said that he is no longer president and CEO, adding that, as of April 1, he has relinquished all of his interests in both companies.
“The crime that I pled guilty to today is the result of my actions, and mine alone.  I take full and complete responsibility,” Ferguson said. “At no time did anyone else at my former companies participate in or was aware of my actions or motives.  I deeply regret any pain that this has caused my former employees and my family.”
This story has been updated
