U.S. Labor Department sues to appoint independent fiduciary for 401(k) plan abandoned by Overland Park, Kansas, technology consulting company

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Kansas City, Missouri – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to appoint an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Professional Resources Inc., a technology consulting company in Overland Park, Kansas.

The suit alleges that Raymond J. Jarrett Jr. owned and operated Professional Resources Inc. and served as the plan’s trustee until abandoning the plan after the company ceased operations in 2002. This situation left the plan’s 15 participants, mostly former employees of the company, unable to access their accounts. When abandoned, the plan had $45,000 in assets.

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, employee benefit plans must be managed by plan fiduciaries. In the absence of a fiduciary, participants and beneficiaries cannot obtain plan information or access accounts to make investments or collect retirement benefits.

The Labor Department’s suit seeks to appoint an independent fiduciary to manage the plan and distribute its assets, to be followed by an orderly termination of the plan.

“When an employee benefit plan is abandoned, so are the workers who invested in it,” said Steve Eischen, regional director in Kansas City, Missouri, for the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). “We took this legal action to ensure that the plan is properly managed and its participants gain access to their retirement assets.”

This suit resulted from an investigation by EBSA’s regional office in Kansas City. Employers and workers can contact the office at 816.285.1800 or call EBSA toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector pension and health plans. In fiscal year 2007, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.5 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.

Chao v. Professional Resources 401(k) Plan & Trust
Civil Action Number: 08-CV-2007

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.