The former president of M.W. Sewall & Co. has been ordered to repay $1.3 million in diverted sales and fuel taxes.

Attorney General William Schneider announced today that Philip Sewall was convicted on three counts in West Bath District Court of failing to pay the state revenue service taxes collected between January 2009 and March 2009. Sewall used the money to pay his own salary and business expenses, the attorney general said in a press release.

M.W. Sewall & Co. was a family-owned company based in Bath that ran a heating oil delivery business and 11 service stations and convenience stores in the Midcoast area.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection March 27, 2009, and its assets are being sold. Philip Sewall has repaid $225,000 and was ordered to pay another $50,000 within 12 months. The state continues to work with the bankruptcy trustee to collect the remaining $1.06 million from the sale of company assets.

The companies have emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership.

“The agreement reached requires Philip Sewall to personally pay out a large amount of money to cover the unpaid taxes owed by the company and other assets are available to repay the state through the bankruptcy,” Schneider said in his written release. “This is a good outcome for the citizens of Maine.”

The case was investigated by the Maine Revenue Services’ Criminal Investigations Unit. Assistant Attorney General Gregg D. Bernstein handled the matter for Attorney General Schneider’s Criminal Division.