ROCKFORD – A former Bull Valley man and Crystal Lake business owner was sentenced to nine months in federal prison for hiding more than $80,000 in assets during the company's bankruptcy proceedings, according to a news release.

Michael Phelan, 51, of Augusta, Georgia, pleaded guilty in September to the concealment of assets from a bankruptcy trustee and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Frederick Kaplan to nine months in prison, followed by three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release.

He also will have to pay $80,618.78 as restitution, the release said. The charge stemmed from when Phelan, the former president of a welding and metal fabrication business called Phezer Enterprises Inc., filed bankruptcy for the company, which closed in August 2008, according to the release.

Phelan had three Phezer employees cut up and scrap company assets, including sheets of stainless steel and other metals, the release said.

The proceeds from the sales went to Phelan, who did not tell the bankruptcy trustee or creditor about the sales.

In February 2013, a McHenry County judge ordered Phelan to pay more than $27,000 in restitution after being accused of mishandling employees' health insurance contributions. He was sentenced to six months of conditional discharge.