US Labor Department obtains appointment of fiduciary to manage abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Missouri company

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A federal district court in Missouri has appointed the law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Brown LLP of Overland Park, Kan., to manage the abandoned Lone Wolf Enterprises 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, wind down the affairs of the plan and distribute its assets to eligible participants and service providers, according to a consent decree obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“We took this action to protect the participants who entrusted their savings to the trustees of the plan,” said Steven Eischen, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration office in Kansas City. “Employers have a legal obligation to properly handle retirement plans when a company goes out of business.”

The lawsuit, filed simultaneously with the court order in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri-Western Division, alleges that plan trustee David DeFeo of Cleveland, Mo., stopped administering the plan in February 2009 around the time the company ceased operations. Since then, DeFeo has failed to respond to participant requests for distributions from the plan and has refused to administer the plan.

As a result, the plan was abandoned, leaving participants without access to their retirement money. The plan has approximately $15,000 in assets. As of June 8, 2009, the plan covered 15 participants. These are the latest data available.

Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Kansas City 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 2009, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.3 billion related to 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. DeFeo
Civil Action Number 09-0976-CV

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