Labor Department Recovers Pension Assets For Colorado Plan Participants

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Denver, Colorado - The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a judgment on July 18 requiring trustees of the Aurora, Colorado-based 401(k) plan of Preferred Mold & Engineering, Inc. to repay $5,652.30 to the plan.
Defendants Mark Ziemer and James Ziemer also agreed to locate affected plan participants, make distributions to eligible plan participants and terminate the plan. The Ziemer brothers also were ordered to obtain and maintain a fidelity bond as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

In January 2001, the department sued the Ziemers for withholding but failing to forward their employees’ salary deferral contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan. The failure of the employer to forward employee contributions on a timely basis cost plan participants consequently to suffer losses of $5,652.30, including lost opportunity costs.

Preferred Mold & Engineering established the plan on April 1, 1996 and as of March 1999, the plan had 20 participants and $139,311 in assets. At the time of the improper action, Mark Ziemer and James Ziemer also were the president and vice president, respectively, of the company.

“This action reaffirms our commitment to protect the hard-earned benefits promised by employers,” said Gregory P. Egan, director of the Kansas City Regional Office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, which conducted the investigation. “Employers and workers can reach us at 816.426.5131 for help with any problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.”

The consent order/judgment was entered in the federal district court in Denver.

(Chao v. Mark Ziemer, James Ziemer, et al
Civil Action No. 01-D-0115)

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.