U.S. Labor Department obtains default judgment and court appointment of independent fiduciary for 401(k) plan abandoned by Kennebunk, Maine, company

Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment appointing Corporate Benefits Co. (CORBCO) of Boston, Massachusetts, as the independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct TRITECH Information Strategies Inc., formerly of Kennebunk, Maine.

The company sponsored the TRITECHIS 401(k) Plan until it ceased operations in 2002. The Labor Department sued the company last year for alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, alleged that John E. Schofield, president and owner of TRITECH, and his wife, Linda Schofield, as sole trustees of the plan, failed to fulfill their responsibilities to prudently administer the 401(k) plan as the company ceased operations, thereby abandoning it.

As a result, the company’s former employees were unable to access their 401(k) accounts. Under ERISA, plans must be managed by named fiduciaries. In the absence of a plan fiduciary, participants and beneficiaries cannot obtain plan information, make investments or collect retirement benefits.

After the defendant failed to respond to the suit, the Labor Department petitioned the court for a default judgment and the immediate appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage the 401(k) plan. Under the judgment, the independent fiduciary has full authority to administer the plan, distribute its assets to eligible participants and beneficiaries, and thereafter terminate the plan. The plan currently has approximately $21,000 in assets being held by Blackrock Funds of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“This legal action should demonstrate that the Labor Department will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the retirement funds of abandoned plan participants, even in a small case such as this,” said Jean Ackerman, director of the Boston Regional Office for the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), which investigated the case.

Employers and workers can contact EBSA’s Boston office at 617.565.9600 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with any problems relating to private sector pension 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. Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. TRITECH Information Strategies, Inc.
Civil Action Number: 2:08-CV-00321-GZS

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