A former agent with The Hartford Insurance Co. from Towson, Md., avoided prison time after his conviction on felony insurance fraud.

Carl Meil, 74, received a six month suspended sentence and five years of probation in Baltimore County Circuit Court Dec. 8, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. A judge also ordered Meil to pay $294,617 in restitution and a $30,000 fine.

An investigation revealed that as an employee of The Hartford, Meil received premium payments from his commercial clients to forward to the insurer. In October 2007, Meil began to keep premium checks for himself, according to the attorney general’s office.

By April 2008, Meil had withheld nearly $380,000 in premium payments, prosecutors said.

After admitting that he owned money to his employer, Meil sent the company several checks that subsequently bounced, according to officials.

Meil’s conviction was the result of a joint investigation by the insurance fraud division of the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Maryland State Police and the state’s attorney general’s office.