US Department of Labor obtains preliminary injunction against Matthew D. Hutcheson and Hutcheson Walker Advisors LLC

WASHINGTON — On June 13, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho granted the U.S. Department of Labor's motion for preliminary injunction against Matthew D. Hutcheson and Hutcheson Walker Advisors LLC. The court found that the department had "demonstrated the type of immediate and irreparable injury necessitating entry of a preliminary injunction."

On May 15, the department filed a complaint in the same court against Hutcheson and others alleging that Hutcheson had violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The complaint alleged that, toward the end of 2010, Hutcheson used more than $3.2 million in retirement plan savings of workers from multiple employers for his own personal benefit and in an attempt to purchase an interest in the Tamarack Resort, a failed ski and golf resort in Idaho.

Hutcheson's alleged misconduct has left the affected retirement plans without sufficient funds to pay participants all the benefits owed to them. Hutcheson also faces a separate criminal indictment, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in the same court on April 10, in connection with the same transaction and others. Concurrent with its civil complaint, the department filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, seeking removal of defendants Hutcheson and Hutcheson Walker Advisors as fiduciaries of the Retirement Security Plan and Trust, formerly known as the Pension Liquidity Plan and Trust. The secretary of labor also requested the appointment of Jeanne B. Bryant of Receivership Management Inc. as independent fiduciary to the Retirement Security Plan and Trust and the plans. On May 16 the court granted the secretary's motion for a temporary restraining order and took the motion for preliminary injunction under advisement. The order is the court's granting of the injunctive relief sought by the department.

In addition to Hutcheson and Hutcheson Walker Advisors LLC, defendants in the secretary's action include Green Valley Holdings LLC and the Retirement Security Plan and Trust.

This case was investigated by staff from the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration Dallas Regional Office. The case is being litigated by the department's Office of the Solicitor, Plan Benefits Security Division in Washington, D.C. Employers and workers can contact EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. For more information, visit www.dol.gov/ebsa.

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.