Ohio Firm And 401(K) Trustees Ordered To Restore Plan Assets

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Buckeye Technical Services, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, and trustees of its 401(k) plan have been ordered to repay $34,944.63 and the trustees have agreed to waive any rights to benefits from the plan as part of a consent order and judgment obtained today by the U. S. Department of Labor.

The trustees also were permanently barred from serving as fiduciaries to any employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Money restored to the plan will be credited to the individual accounts of participants or distributed to them.

The court action resolves a Labor Department lawsuit filed on Feb. 3, 1998, against the company and trustees Myron G. Place and William R. Kugel Jr. The lawsuit alleged that the trustees withheld voluntary plan contributions from employees’ paychecks from October 1992 to June 30, 1995.

Buckeye Technical Services, which filed for bankruptcy in 1997, intends to file a plan of reorganization with the bankruptcy court relating to the company’s liability to make court-ordered monthly payments to the plan. The 401(k) plan was created in 1992 to provide benefits upon retirement or in the event of undue financial hardship.

The judgment resulted from an investigation conducted by the Cincinnati Regional Office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration into alleged violations of ERISA. The judgment was entered on Aug. 25, in federal district court in Columbus, Ohio.

Herman v. Buckeye Technical Services, Inc.
Civil Action No. C298-0140

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Contact Name: Rita Ford
Phone Number: 202.219.8921
Contact Name: Joseph Menez
Phone Number: 606.578.4680