U.S. Department of Labor Reaches Agreement with Defunct Springfield, Ohio, Company to Restore Losses to Retirement Plan

SPRINGFIELD, OH – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Cincinnati office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found that Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC and Amy Demmy  ̶  fiduciary to the Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC Retirement Savings Plan  ̶  violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and are liable to the plan for $350,234. As a result, the Department of Labor has entered into an agreement with the fiduciary of the Springfield sand and gravel company to restore losses to the company’s retirement savings plan. The agreement is part of a consent judgment filed and approved by a federal judge.

EBSA investigators found that Demmy failed to remit $2,410 in employee contributions and $31,257 in participant loan repayments to the plan in 2013. In addition, Demmy failed to remit $257,497 in prevailing wage contributions to the plan from January 2011 through May 2013. Those funds were not forwarded to the retirement plan but retained in the company’s general assets and were used for non-plan purposes in violation of ERISA. Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC ceased operations in 2015.

Demmy will make an immediate payment to the plan of $35,293 and forfeit all but 20 percent of her own account with the plan to restore losses and pay final plan expenses.

“This settlement restores hard-earned retirement benefits to employees,” said L. Joe Rivers, Employee Benefits Security Administration Regional Director in Cincinnati. “Fiduciaries must work solely in the interest of plans and participants.”

Employers and workers can reach EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans. Additional information can be found at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.

Acosta v. Demmy, Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC, Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC Retirement Savings Plan

Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-00032