Independent fiduciary appointed for abandoned benefit plan after US Labor Department suit

NEW YORK – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has appointed an independent fiduciary to administer an abandoned pension benefit plan, resolving a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The court appointed M. Larry Lefoldt as the independent fiduciary of the Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. Employee Savings Plan with authority to administer the plan and, if necessary, to implement its orderly termination. Lefoldt is tasked with developing a strategy for payment of retirement benefits, approximately $308,438 in plan assets, to 26 participants.

“Under the law, plans must be managed by fiduciaries, and their assets must be held in a trust by trustees. When this is not done, participants and beneficiaries cannot obtain plan information, make investments or collect retirement benefits. The appointment of the independent fiduciary rectifies this situation,” said Jonathan Kay, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration in New York.

The company’s savings plan was established in May 1997. Co-founder Alberto Vilar was the plan’s fiduciary, responsible for its administration, management and distribution of assets. When Amerindo Investment Advisors ceased operations in 2005, a new fiduciary was not appointed to manage the plan or oversee distribution of its assets, leaving the participants unable to access their retirement benefits. In 2008, Vilar was convicted on 12 counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false statements. As a consequence of his conviction, he is prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act from serving as a fiduciary, administrator or consultant to any ERISA-covered benefit plan. His appeal of this conviction was denied in 2013.

The suit resulted from an investigation conducted by the New York Regional Office of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. The department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case.

Workers participating in employer-sponsored health and retirement benefit plans who feel that they have been denied a benefit inappropriately or have questions about benefits laws can visit www.askebsa.dol.gov or call an EBSA benefits adviser at 866-444-EBSA (3272).

Civil Action Number: 14-CV-1577
Perez v. Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. Employee Savings Plan

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.