US Labor Department sues Baltimore-based architect to recover $56K for 401(k) plan participants

Date of Action: July 26, 2016

Name(s) of Defendants: Donald Kann, Kann & Associates, Inc. doing business as Kann Partners, and Kann & Associates Inc., Kann Partners 401(k) plan.

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration led the secretary of labor to file a complaint which alleges the defendants:

• Failed to remit $56,065.27 in employee 401(k) contributions beginning on July 28, 2009.
• Did not timely remit certain other employee contributions to the Kann & Associates, Inc. t/a Kann Partners 401(k) plan beginning in January 2009.

EBSA’s investigation found that the lost earnings on the delinquent and late remitted employee contributions exceeds $34,000.

Resolution: The complaint seeks restitution of the unremitted employee 401(k) contributions, with lost earnings on the delinquent and late remitted employee contributions. It also seeks the removal of Donald Kann and the company as fiduciaries of the plan, and prohibits them from serving as fiduciaries for any employee benefit plan, and the appointment of an independent fiduciary to administer the plan and distribute its assets. 

Background: Donald Kann is the President and Principal in charge of Kann & Associates Inc. a Baltimore-based architectural firm.

Court: United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Docket Number: 1:16-cv-02688-RDB