Former president of Fine Line Drywall, Keene, New Hampshire pleads guilty to theft of employee IRA funds

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Keene, New Hampshire – Mark R. Blanchard, the former president of defunct Fine Line Drywall Inc. of Keene, has pled guilty to two counts of theft by misapplication of property exceeding $48,000 in the New Hampshire Superior Court in Keene.

In 2006, Blanchard was indicted and charged with theft by recklessly failing to make specified payments to the Fine Line Drywall Inc. Simple IRA Plan from February through December 2004, when the company went out of business. Specifically, the alleged theft involved employee contributions totaling nearly $30,000 and employer matching contributions of more than $18,000.

The case was investigated by the Boston Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). It was prosecuted by the Cheshire County Attorney’s Office in Keene.

“These funds belong to the employees of Fine Line Drywall who were participants in the company’s IRA plan,” said James Benages, regional director for EBSA in Boston. “We have worked vigorously with New Hampshire authorities to make sure these funds are restored to the rightful beneficiaries and that justice is served in this case.”

According to company records, Blanchard established the Fine Line Drywall Inc. Simple IRA plan for approximately 17 employees. Employee contributions were withheld from employees’ wages to fund their accounts held at a financial institution. The company was required to match a certain percentage of the employees’ contributions.

The investigation revealed that Blanchard failed to remit employee contributions and employer matching contributions. He was alleged to have stolen these funds for his own personal expenses.

After pleading guilty, Blanchard was sentenced to a prison term of two to five years in the New Hampshire State Prison and suspension of two years provided the defendant meets certain conditions. Blanchard was ordered to make full restitution within two years, perform 200 hours of community service and be subject to random testing for controlled substances.

State of New Hampshire v. Blanchard
Criminal Number 07-S-0428 and 07-S-0429

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.