US Department of Labor sues defunct Indiana company, owner to obtain assets for 401(k) plan and trust participants

MERRIVILLE, Ind. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Subspecialty Centers of America LCC in Merriville and the defunct company’s owner, Mark S. Weinberger, for allegedly failing to administer and terminate the Subspecialty Centers of America LCC 401(k) Plan and Trust in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Hammond, alleges that Weinberger failed to terminate the company’s 401(k) plan and trust, which has prevented qualified participants from obtaining distributions of their individual account balances. The company ceased operations in 2004. As of Jan. 11, 2010, the plan and trust had four participants and total assets of $33,280.30.

“Our legal action underscores the Labor Department’s commitment to hold accountable those who are entrusted with the assets of workers’ retirement plans,” said Steve Haugen, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago. “Retirement plans are individual assets and to prevent employees from accessing their own accounts is unjust. We will continue to help workers obtain their rightful benefits when plan fiduciaries violate the law.”

The suit seeks a court order to appoint an independent fiduciary to distribute the assets to qualified participants, and to terminate the plan and trust. It also seeks to permanently bar Weinberger from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan in the future.

EBSA protects the security of the retirement, health and other workplace-related benefits of America’s workers, retirees and their families. The agency oversees approximately 708,000 private sector retirement plans, 2.8 million health plans and a similar number of other workplace-related benefit plans that provide benefits to more than 150 million Americans. Collectively, these plans hold more than $6 trillion in assets.

The investigation was conducted by EBSA’s Chicago Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach the Chicago office at 312-353-0900 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans. Additional information can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Weinberger, Subspecialty Centers of America LCC
Civil Action Number: 2:11-cv-00120

# # #

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.