Two former executives with The Hartford pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting BMWs and millions in cash to help a Texas attorney obtain settlements in one of his cases.

Rachel Marie Rossow, 44, of Farmington, Conn., and John Frederick Prestage, 39, of Newington, Conn., pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Rossow and Prestage admitted that during their employment with The Hartford, they were involved in the settlement of silica-related claims brought by Houston area attorney Warren Todd Hoeffner and engaged in a conspiracy to defraud their employer.

Prosecutors said the pair accepted new BMWs and cash in the amount of more than $500,000 for Prestage and nearly $2 million for Rossow.

Prestage worked as a claim handler in Hoeffner’s case against The Hartford and its subsidiaries, and Rossow was the team leader for the insurer and involved in settling the claims brought by the attorney. Neither disclosed the payments to The Hartford.

In addition to forfeiting the cash and purchases made in connection with the bribes, Prestage and Rossow face 24 months and 36 months imprisonment, respectively, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They are both scheduled for sentencing May 17.

In October 2009, allegations against Hoeffner ended in a mistrial. Hoeffner then filed an appeal, seeking to reverse the district court’s ruling that a retrial following a hung jury resulting in a mistrial is not precluded on double jeopardy grounds.

The plea agreements by Prestage and Rossow allow each to withdraw their pleas of guilty if the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals bars the prosecution of Hoeffner for double jeopardy. That decision is still pending.