Big Dig contractor McCourt Construction,Ryan McCourt was sentenced to two years of probation, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment

Ryan McCourt of Quincy, Mass., was sentenced to two years of probation, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement. Kenneth Hartley of California was sentenced to six months in the custody of the US Bureau of Prisons, two years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.The two men had pleaded guilty in July to one count each of conspiracy to make false statements regarding a federal highway project, the US attorney's office said.Prosecutors said that McCourt and Hartley, along with Big Dig contractor McCourt Construction, schemed to overbill the multi-billion-dollar project by falsely categorizing apprentice ironworkers, among other workers, as higher-paid journeymen.Prosecutors have said the workers were paid as apprentices and the company pocketed the difference. The overpayments allegedly totaled $314,494.The scheme by the managers of the company's Claims and Changes Department allegedly ran from 2002 through December 2005. Hartley was the department manager from 2001 through June 2004. McCourt had the same job from about July 2004 through the end of the conspiracy, prosecutors said.The company, which was the main contractor on the Interstate 93 tunnel finishing contract, has pleaded guilty in the scheme and will be sentenced on Nov. 7, prosecutors said.