Former Owner of Mississippi Home Health Care Agency Sentenced for Embezzling Pension Assets

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The former owner of Complete Health System, Inc. of Vicksburg, Mississippi, (formerly Haworth Home Health Agency, Inc.) was sentenced on January 23, 2004 to four months in prison, four months of home confinement, probation and restitution to the company’s 401(k) plan.

Ida J. Haworth was sentenced in federal district court in Jackson, Mississippi after pleading guilty to one count of embezzling assets belonging to the Haworth Home Health Agency 401(k) Plan.

“Theft of employee benefit assets jeopardizes the benefits of workers,” said Howard Marsh, regional director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Atlanta. “This case reaffirms our commitment to protect the benefit promises made to workers.”

Haworth was indicted on August 20, 2003 for failing to remit approximately $53,000 in employee contributions to the 401(k) plan’s investment manager. She operated several home health care agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi for several years.

The Atlanta regional office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi prosecuted the case.

(U.S. v. Haworth)
Criminal No. 3:03-CR-128BN

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.