U.S. Labor Department seeks to restore employee contributions owed to Iowa SIMPLE IRA plan and appoint independent plan fiduciary

Pella, Iowa - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of Van Elsen Consulting Inc. in Pella, Iowa, for allegedly retaining employee contributions owed to the company’s SIMPLE IRA Retirement Plan to pay the operating expenses of the company. Van Elsen Consulting Inc. was an actuarial consulting firm that ceased operations on December 31, 2006.

The suit seeks a court order to restore unremitted participant contributions owed to the plan and to appoint an independent fiduciary, if necessary, to distribute the plan’s assets and terminate the plan. The department also asks the court to permanently bar James Van Elsen from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to any plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

“The department acts quickly to help workers get their benefits when plan assets are either misused or the plans are abandoned,” said Steve Eischen, director of the department’s Kansas City regional office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), which investigated the case.

The lawsuit alleges that Van Elsen violated his fiduciary duties under ERISA from January 13, 2005 through November 22, 2006. Van Elsen allegedly caused Van Elsen Consulting to retain and fail to remit participant contributions intended for the plan and used plan assets to pay the operating expenses of the company. At the time of the violations, Van Elsen was the company’s president, did business as, and was the sole owner of Van Elsen Consulting Inc.

Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Kansas City Regional Office at 816.285.1800 or toll free at 866.444.3272, for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In fiscal year 2008, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.2 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.

(Solis v. Van Elsen)
Civil Action No. 1:09-cv-4007

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