November 29, 2010

Third-party retirement plan administrator sentenced for false statement on Form 5500, following US Labor Department investigation

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that the owner of Philadelphia Pension Planning Corp., formerly located in Montgomery County, Pa., was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $715,228.79 to the Bustleton Landscaping Co. Inc. Profit Sharing Plan for making a false statement in the Form 5500 annual report.

November 29, 2010

US Labor Department sues pension plans trustee of 2 defunct New York City garment companies to recover millions of dollars in misused assets

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued trustee Colette Mordo for alleged misuse of more than $4.6 million in plan assets of the Sadimara Knitwear Inc. and the Stallion Knits Ltd. defined benefit pension plans, in violation of her fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The lawsuit is based on an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration.

November 29, 2010

US Labor Department proposes rule to enhance target date retirement fund disclosures

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed rule that will help America's workers better understand target date retirement funds and other similar investments offered in 401(k)-type pension plans.

November 29, 2010

US Labor Department obtains court judgment ordering former Marietta, Ga., insurance agency to restore more than $77,000 to 401(k) plan

KENNESAW, Ga. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order requiring the Hoyla Insurance Group Inc. and owner Michael Hoyla to restore $77,470.48 to the former company's 401(k) retirement plan.

Following an investigation by the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, the department filed a lawsuit alleging that the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by comingling employee contributions with company funds.

November 23, 2010

US Labor Department settles dispute with former Tampa, Fla., pharmaceutical corporation over retirement plan assets

TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained consent judgments requiring Medipharm-Rx Inc. and two 401(k) plan administrators to restore more than $10,000 in losses incurred by the company’s 401(k) plan.

November 23, 2010

US Labor Department sues former Orlando, Fla., security consulting company to restore 401(k) plan assets

ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing the defunct Bordes Group Inc. and the estate of its late owner, Roy Bordes, to restore assets to the company’s 401(k) plan for the benefit of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries.

November 23, 2010

US Labor Department sues defunct Lakeland, Fla., automotive equipment and tools sales company to restore 401(k) losses to plan participants

LAKELAND, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct GBK & Associates Inc. and its owners, Deborah Burgess-Wyngate and George Kamanis, to restore losses suffered by the company’s 401(k) plan participants and beneficiaries. The lawsuit followed an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 18, 2010

US Labor Department proposes rule to implement annual funding notice requirement for pension plans

WASHINGTON – Pursuant to a requirement imposed by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed rule to implement the annual funding notice requirement under section 101(f) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 17, 2010

US Labor Department obtains judgments against trustees of New York City- based pension plan for violating employee benefits law

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment against trustee Samuel Kohl and default judgments against trustee Caren Kohl and Welko Inc. of New York City as fiduciaries of the Welko Inc. Pension Plan, permanently barring them from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any employee benefit plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

US Labor Department sues Franklin, Ky., trucking company and owner to recover assets for 401(k) retirement plan participants and beneficiaries

FRANKLIN, Ky. – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Truck It Inc. of Franklin and company owner Steven Ligon to restore employee contributions and lost opportunity costs to participants in the company’s 401(k) retirement plan.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department announces nationwide enforcement actions to protect millions of dollars in worker retirement and health benefits

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a series of enforcement actions to protect more than $7 million for workers in retirement plans or health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

US Labor Department sues Westbrook, Conn., company and president to restore misused 401(k) plan assets

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Custom Navigation Systems Inc. of Westbrook, Conn., and company president Steven G. Gill for failing to forward $70,000 in employee contributions and loan repayments withheld from employees’ paychecks to the company’s 401(k) plan, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues executive of defunct Oklahoma aircraft manufacturer for misuse of welfare benefit assets

ALTUS, Okla. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of defunct Quartz Mountain Aerospace Inc., which operated in Altus, Okla., and Coffeeville, Kan., for misusing assets of the company's welfare benefit plan to benefit himself and the company.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues Albuquerque, NM, engineering company and its president to recover employee contributions owed to 401(k) plan

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Hensley Engineering Group LLC of Albuquerque and its president, Lisa Hensley, for misusing assets of $48,528.30 in employee contributions owed to the company's 401(k) plan to benefit themselves.

November 16, 2010

US Labor Department sues Woodland Hills, Calif., company and president to protect 401(k) assets

PASADENA, Calif. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Sophisticated Technologies Inc., a defunct system design and software company in Woodland Hills, Calif., and former president Moshe Klein for failure to protect $26,825 in employee contributions plus lost opportunity costs owed to the company’s 401(k) plan.

November 16, 2010

US Labor Department sues Houston employee staffing company and owner for misuse of 401(k) plan assets

HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued NSC Cos. Inc. of Houston and its owner for failing to remit or timely forward employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan and using the plan’s assets for their own benefit, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues Somerset, Pa., companies and executive to protect 401(k) profit-sharing plan participants

SOMERSET, Pa. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Super City Sports Sales Inc., general manager James V. Sujansky and parent company Pioneer Inc. for failing to remit employee contributions to the company's 401(k) profit-sharing plan, and for withdrawing all remaining plan funds in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

US Labor Department sues owner of defunct Mass. & RI company to restore more than $6.6 million in misused funds owed to company pension plan

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Fathalla M. Mashali, owner and president of the now defunct Northern Rhode Island Anesthesia Associates P.C. and its subsidiaries, for failing to forward more than $6 million in contributions plus interest owed to the company’s pension plan, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The company operated subsidiaries throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues defunct Ocala, Fla., construction company to restore 401(k) plan assets for the benefit of plan participants

OCALA, Fla. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the defunct Triple T Construction Inc. and its owner, George Thompson III, to restore assets to the former company's 401(k) plan for the benefit of plan participants and beneficiaries.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues executive of Austin, Texas, veterinary clinic over misuse of 401(k) profit sharing plan assets

AUSTIN, Texas - The U.S. Department of Labor sued the chief financial officer and husband of the owner of bankrupt TLS Vets P.A., located in Austin, for misusing 401(k) profit sharing assets to benefit himself and the veterinary clinic.