US Labor Department sues former Orlando, Fla., security consulting company to restore 401(k) plan assets

ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing the defunct Bordes Group Inc. and the estate of its late owner, Roy Bordes, to restore assets to the company’s 401(k) plan for the benefit of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries.

The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The suit alleges that the company and its owner failed to forward $27,546.10 in employee contributions to the retirement plan in 2006 and 2007, and to appoint someone to carry out that task. In 2006, the plan loaned $16,508 to Roy Bordes, $9,500 of which was repaid by his estate. When the company ceased operations in 2008, the plan was not terminated and no one was appointed to ensure that the retirement assets were properly distributed to participants.

“The Labor Department is filing this lawsuit to ensure that all assets owed to the Bordes Group 401(k) retirement plan are collected and distributed to their rightful owners – the employees,” said R.C. Marshall, EBSA’s regional director in Atlanta, Ga.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida-Orlando Division, the suit asks the court to order the defendants to restore all losses and to offset any claims of the defendants to plan assets against the losses owed to the plan. The suit also seeks to permanently bar the defendants from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any employee benefit plan subject to ERISA, and to appoint an independent fiduciary at the defendants’ expense to terminate the plan and distribute its assets.

Bordes Group Inc. provided security consulting services and was based in Orlando. As of September 2010, the 401(k) plan had seven participants and $139,876.22 in assets.

This case is part of EBSA’s employee contribution project to safeguard workers’ contributions to 401(k) and health benefit plans, and was investigated by the agency’s Atlanta Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach that office at 404-302-3900 or contact EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Bordes Group Inc.
Civil Action File Number 6:10-cv-01701-ACC-KRS

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