A Farmington electrical contractor will spend 20 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release for stealing $3.3 million from his employees.

Lee Ferguson, 62, will also have to pay a $200,000 fine. Ferguson owns and runs Plainville-based Ferguson Electric and Ferguson Mechanical.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office for Connecticut, Ferguson caused to be deducted approximately $1.60 to $3.15 per hour from each of his employee’s fringe benefits package from 2013 to 2017 as a “third party administrator 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, this “fee” was paid over to TPA of Connecticut, a company that Ferguson established and controlled. TPA of Connecticut, in turn, sent the monies to DJS Associates, a Florida company that Ferguson formed 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 $3.36 million from more than 300 employees. He has made full restitution.

Ferguson pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering on July 31 of last year and is required to report to prison on April 28.