US Labor Department obtains judgment restoring nearly $194,000 to New Castle, Del., company's 401(k) plan

NEW CASTLE, Del. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering Arkion Life Sciences LLC and its corporate officers, Earnest W. Porta, Rick, L. Stejskal, Harvey L. Weaver and Anthony J. Simei, to restore $193,795 in restitution and interest to the company's 401(k) plan.

The judgment resolves a Labor Department lawsuit alleging that the defendants failed to remit employee contributions to the plan, untimely remitted to the plan certain employee contributions without interest, and co-mingled plan assets with the general assets of the company. These alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act occurred between December 2003 and April 2008.

Under the judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the defendants will make restitution to the plan and pay a 20 percent penalty on the recovered funds. The company will retain an independent trustee if it continues to sponsor the plan.

"Plan fiduciaries have a legal obligation to act in the best interest of the plan and its participants," said Mabel Capolongo, director of the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration. "We will hold fiduciaries accountable who fail to meet this obligation."

The department's legal action resulted from an investigation by EBSA's Philadelphia Regional Office. Employers and workers can contact that office at 215.861.5300 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector pension and health plans. Additional information can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Arkion Life Sciences LLC
Civil Action Number: 11-00075

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