Labor Department Sues Louisiana Executives For Misusing Pension Assets Of Health Care Firm

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Dallas, Texas - Executives of Community Home Health Care in Napoleonville, Louisiana, and the plan administrator have been sued by the U.S. Department of Labor for using employee contributions to benefit themselves instead of transmitting the assets to the firm’s 401(k) plan.

“The department is committed to protect the hard-earned assets contributed by employees for their retirement,” said Steve Eischen, director of the Dallas regional office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA).

The suit, filed February 11 in federal district court in New Orleans, alleges that plan administrators Kerry Jones, Earl Brown and Virgious Brown violated their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  The suit alleges the defendants failed to remit employee contributions to the plan’s account from September 1998 to February 1999.

The department asks the court to require the defendants restore all losses to the plan plus interest, distribute the restored assets to plan participants and terminate the plan.

Community Home Health Care is a home health agency.  The 401(k) profit sharing plan covered 87 participants and had $23,237 in assets as of December 31, 1997.

This case resulted from an investigation conducted by the Dallas regional office of PWBA into alleged violations of ERISA.  Employers and employees can contact the Dallas office at 214.767.6831 for help with problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.

(Chao v. Jones
Civil Action No.02-0377)

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 202.693.7775.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.