U.S. Labor Department obtains default judgment against Cincinnati-based restaurant group and trustee of 401(k) savings plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Cincinnati – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment requiring Cincinnati-based Queen City Restaurant Group and its 401(k) trustee, Vincent Bryant, to pay $46,718 to the company’s 401(k) savings plans as restitution for failing to remit employee contributions and loan repayments owed to the plans.

The judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, resolves a Labor Department lawsuit. It appoints AMI Benefit Plan Administrators Inc., located in Cortland, Ohio, as independent fiduciary to administer the investment and disbursal of the accounts of the participants and beneficiaries of the Blue Ash Bistro and Brewery and Queen City Brewing Co. plans.

The Queen City Restaurant Group, formerly known as Queen City Brewing Co., and Bryant violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to remit employee contributions to the retirement savings plans of Queen City Restaurant Group and the Blue Ash Bistro and Brewery, formerly known as the Watson Brothers Bistro and Brewery. Bryant was the president and chief executive officer of the restaurant group when the alleged improper transactions occurred. He also failed to remit employee contributions on time between January 2001 and March 2006.

Teller’s of Hyde Park LTD, a co-defendant in the suit, has settled with the Labor Department, and has restored $18,609 of employee contributions and interest to its employee plan.

“The department will take appropriate legal action when plan fiduciaries fail to carry out their duty to protect the retirement plan assets held on behalf of participants,” said Paul Bauman, acting director of the department’s regional office in Cincinnati of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

Employers with similar problems who are not yet the subjects of investigations by EBSA may be eligible to participate in the department’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). Participation in the VFCP requires employers to make workers whole but allows them to avoid EBSA enforcement actions and civil penalties as well as any applicable excise taxes. For more information about the VFCP, see www.dol.gov/ebsa.

The court actions resulted from an investigation conducted by EBSA’s Cincinnati office. Employers and workers can reach that office at 859.578.4680 or through EBSA’s toll-free number, 866.444.3272, for help with problems relating to private sector retirement 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. Bryant
Civil Action Number 1:06-cv-861

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