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Lee Ferguson, 62, of Farmington, pleaded guilty in Hartford district court to one count of money laundering stemming from a scheme in which he stole money from his employees.
U.S. Attorney John Durham said that Ferguson owns and operates Ferguson Electric and Ferguson Mechanical in Plainville.
Between 2013 and 2017, Durham said that “Ferguson caused to be deducted approximately $1.60 to $3.15 per hour from each of his employee’s fringe benefits package as a ‘third party fee’ for the employees’ pension plans. Ferguson knew that the funds were not used to cover any administrative fees for the employees’ pension plans.
Instead, the “third-party administrator fee” was paid to TPA of Connecticut, a company that Ferguson established and controlled. That money was then sent to DJS Associates, a Florida-based company that Ferguson also established and controlled “for the purported purpose of performing business-consulting services for him and his companies.
However, no such services were performed and Ferguson used the funds for personal expenses.
Through this scheme, Ferguson stole a total of $3,357,516 from more than 300 employees. Ferguson will face up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 24. He remains released on a $50,000 bond pending his sentencing.
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