US Labor Department obtains default judgment against Tacoma, Wash.-based company, owner to restore nearly $17,000 in retirement assets

TACOMA, Wash. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment ordering Vincent’s Apartment Washer Service Inc. and its former owner and president, Keith D. Vincent, to restore $16,939 to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees.

The judgment resolves the Labor Department’s allegations that the defendants comingled assets of the plan with those of the company; misappropriated $9,576 of employee contributions owed to the SIMPLE plan from October 2004 through August 2005; failed to ensure $2,775 in mandatory employer matching contributions were paid to the plan; and used plan assets to pay the company’s business expenses.

Under the judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Vincent and the company must make restitution to the plan of $16,939, which includes lost opportunity costs. Vincent also is permanently enjoined from acting as a fiduciary or service provider to any plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

In a separate legal action, the department obtained a default judgment in Keith Vincent’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, ordering that the debt of $16,939 plus post-judgment interest is non-dischargeable.

“Fiduciaries have a legal obligation to act in the best interest of the plan and its participants, and will be held accountable when that obligation is not met,” said Jean Ackerman, director of the San Francisco Regional Office of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.

The case was investigated EBSA’s Seattle District Office and litigated by the Labor Department’s regional solicitor in San Francisco. Employers and workers may contact EBSA’s Seattle office at 206-553-4244 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. Vincent’s Apartment Washer Service Inc.
Civil Action Number: 3:10-CV-05306-BHS

Solis v. Vincent
Adversary Case Number: 10-04090-BDL

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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.