Harris v. KIP Corp. involving the mishandling of retirement savings plan contributions in Charlotte, NC

Date of Action: March 29, 2013

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Eugene Kiser, Moniquea Scott, KIP Corp.

Allegations: On November 1, 1995, KIP Corp., based in Charlotte, N.C., established the KIP Corp. retirement savings plan for its employees.  During the course of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the agency found that between March 2009 and March 2010, the defendants, the fiduciaries to the plan, failed to timely forward to the plan $85,142 in employee contributions and employer matching contributions. Instead, these contributions were used by KIP Corp. in its daily operations.

Resolution: The department is asking the court to set off the individual plan accounts of any defendant against the amount of losses, including lost opportunity costs, resulting from their breaches. The department also asks that each defendant be permanently enjoined from serving as fiduciary, administrator, officer, trustee, custodian, agent, employee, representative, or having control over the assets of any employee benefit plan subject to ERISA. Furthermore, the department asks the court to enjoin the defendants from engaging in further violations of ERISA, and to order the defendants to restore all losses to the plan, including lost opportunity cost, which occurred as a result of their fiduciary breaches.

Court: United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division

Docket Number: 3:13-cv-00202

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.