U.S. Labor Department obtains judgment restoring more than $20,000 to Bedford, NH, 401(k) retirement plan

retirement plan

Concord, New Hampshire – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering Eric C. Mitchell & Associates Inc. and Eric C. Mitchell to restore $20,723 in funds to the Bedford, N.H., company's 401(k) retirement plan. The defendants served, respectively, as the plan's sponsor and administrator, and as its trustee.

The judgment resolves a Labor Department lawsuit that alleged the defendants had violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act since June 2008 by failing to forward contributions withheld from employees' wages to the plan and using the funds for purposes other than plan benefits.

Under the consent judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in Concord, restored funds will be reallocated from Mitchell's 401(k) account to those of the plan participants. Once that is done, the defendants will pay the remaining balance to the plan as well as a 20 percent penalty on the recovered funds.

"Fiduciaries must act solely in the interests of the plan and its participants," said Edward Maloney, acting regional director of the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration in Boston. "Failure to do so can negatively impact the plan and the benefits of retirement participants. The Labor Department will not hesitate to take the necessary legal steps to remedy such losses."

The department's legal action follows an investigation by EBSA's Boston Regional Office. Employers and workers can contact that office at 617.565.9600 or 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector pension and health plans.

In fiscal year 2009, the department achieved monetary results of $1.3 billion in pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families. Additional information can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Eric C. Mitchell & Associates Inc. and Eric C. Mitchell.
Civil Action Number: 10-cv-187-LM.

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