HARRISBURG — Two Ohio men sued for deceptively collecting donations in Butler and three other cities in Western Pennsylvania have been fined $10.8 million by the state.

The court’s ruling covers Phillip Howells and Martin Vernello and their corporations, Phil’s Productions and MVP Productions.

The $10.8 million penalty includes restitution for consumers, civil penalties and legal costs.

The state attorney general prosecuted the case.

Howells and Vernello are both barred from soliciting charitable donations in the state until the penalty is paid.

According to legal filings, the defendants operated commercial telemarketing firms based in Ohio that sold concert tickets and advertising on behalf of firefighters unions in Butler, McKeesport, New Castle and Sharon.

Telemarketers would call and sell tickets to the concerts claiming proceeds would benefit the firefighters unions and local fire prevention efforts, including Butler City Firefighters Local 114 union, according to the attorney general’s office.

However, telemarketers made a series of misrepresentations.

They led consumers to believe they were firefighters or police officers when they were not. They also made misstated about how much they were paid.

Other misrepresentations included erroneously stating that 100 percent of the proceeds from donations went to charitable efforts such as scholarships for children pursuing law enforcement and food banks.

Between 2008 and 2012, Howells and Vernello received more than $286,000, according to a petition filed with the attorney general’s office.

President Jim Kaufman of Butler Local 114 said of the case: “It’s over and done with for us.”

According to Jeff Johnson, assistant press secretary with the attorney general’s office, Butler Local 114 paid $1,800 to the state in a 2014 settlement. The union also agreed to do fire safety visits to schools as in-kind restitution, Johnson said.