U.S. Labor Department obtains default judgment against Michigan Pumping Service fiduciary for failing to properly administer savings plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Detroit - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment appointing Summit Benefit Solutions, Mansfield, Ohio, as the independent fiduciary to manage and distribute the assets of the Trenton, Michigan-based Michigan Pumping Service Inc. 401(k) plan to remaining participants.

The judgment, entered in federal district court in Detroit, Michigan, resolves a lawsuit alleging William Hartsock Jr., owner and plan fiduciary at the time Michigan Pumping Service Inc. was sold, abandoned the 401(k) plan. The judgment also permanently enjoins him from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

“When a plan is abandoned, so are the workers who invested in it,” said Joseph Menez, regional director for the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Cincinnati, Ohio. “The Labor Department took this legal action so that the plan will be properly administered and its participants can access the funds that rightly belong to them.”

According to the latest data available to the Labor Department, the plan had eight participants and $37,307 in assets.

Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Cincinnati Regional Office at 859.578.4680 or toll-free at 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In fiscal year 2006, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.4 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.

Chao v. Hartsock
Civil Action Number 2:06-cv-14226

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.