August 21, 2009

Trustee of Somerset, Pennsylvania, profit sharing plan ordered to cooperate with U.S. Labor Department investigation

Somerset, Pennsylvania — A federal district court has found James Sujansky, trustee of the Super City Sports Sales Inc. 401 (k) Profit Sharing Plan, in contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order directing him to produce documents subpoenaed during an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

August 13, 2009

U.S. Labor Department sues retirement plan trustees of defunct Alabama wholesaler to recover nearly $900,000 in pension assets

Atlanta — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct Vinyl-Mark Products Inc. of Hueytown, Alabama, and the company’s pension and profit sharing plan trustees for allegedly misusing $898,259.69 in plan assets to pay the operating expenses of the company.

August 11, 2009

U.S. Labor Department sues trustees of 3 Mendon, Massachusetts, company pension plans seeking restoration of more than $300,000 in plan assets

Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued trustees Michael McLaughlin and William J. Frasier for allegedly misusing $312,555.71 in retirement assets of three Mendon, Massachusetts, pension plans, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

August 5, 2009

U.S. Labor Department obtains judgment against former president of Chicago investment firm to restore $50 million to Michigan union pension plans

Chicago — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order requiring the former president of Chicago-based AA Capital Partners Inc. to restore $50 million in losses to five Michigan pension funds as restitution for misuse of the plans’ assets to benefit the investment firm and himself. The judgment also bars defendant John Orecchio from serving in a fiduciary or service provider capacity to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

July 31, 2009

U.S. Department of Labor obtains agreement with former fiduciary of SCT Yarns to restore assets to pension plans

Chattanooga, Tennessee – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and settlement agreement requiring Tim Manson to restore $35,415 to Standard Coosa Thatcher (SCT) Yarns’ retirement plans for salaried and hourly employees.

July 30, 2009

U.S. Labor Department solicits nominations for 2010 ERISA Advisory Council

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor is soliciting nominations to fill five three-year vacancies on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The deadline for receipt of nominations is September 15, 2009.

July 28, 2009

Business manager of Alabama anesthesia practice sentenced for failure to file required annual report for profit-sharing plan

Atlanta — The business manager of Jasper Anesthesia Care Inc. in Jasper, Alabama, was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Jasper to pay of $46,844.79 in restitution to the company’s profit-sharing plan plus a $100 special assessment. Haze Edward Persons also was sentenced to 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

July 27, 2009

U.S. Department of Labor sues Winter Park, Florida, law firm to protect retirement assets

Orlando, Florida – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Bichler and Kelly P.A. and two of its attorneys to protect the assets of the law firm’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA).

July 21, 2009

U.S. Labor Department obtains default judgment and court appointment of independent fiduciary for 401(k) plan abandoned by Rochester, New York, employer

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order in the form of a default judgment appointing Jacqueline M. Carmichael as the independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Bonnie Optical Inc. of Rochester, New York.

July 20, 2009

Employee Benefits Security Administration releases field assistance bulletin on annual reporting by 403(b) plans

Washington - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2009-02 that provides guidance to field investigators regarding certain Form 5500 requirements dealing with tax-sheltered annuity programs.

July 16, 2009

U.S. Department of Labor obtains consent judgment against Herndon, Virginia, company to protect participants of abandoned retirement plan

Herndon, Virginia – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia removing Answers Inc. and 401(k) trustee Cynthia Chambliss as fiduciaries of the company’s 401(k) profit-sharing plan and appointing JM Pension Advisory Inc. as the independent plan fiduciary. Answers Inc. is a defunct company formerly located in Herndon, Va., that operated under the names Transit Services LLC and Answer Transit Services Corp.

July 14, 2009

U.S. Department of Labor obtains settlement giving former Cookeville, Tennessee, company participants access to their retirement funds

Cookeville, Tennessee – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and settlement agreement appointing an independent fiduciary to manage and distribute the retirement assets of defunct Renewable Resources Inc. of Cookeville.

The order, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, appoints Larry Lefoldt as the independent fiduciary for the purpose of terminating the plan and distributing its assets in accordance with plan provisions.

July 13, 2009

U.S. Labor Department sues to appoint independent fiduciary to manage abandoned 401(k) plan of former Denver-area employer

Denver — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado appointing an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of the defunct Denver Window Corp., formerly of Commerce City, Colorado.

July 9, 2009

U.S. Labor Department seeks to restore employee contributions owed to Iowa SIMPLE IRA plan and appoint independent plan fiduciary

Pella, Iowa - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of Van Elsen Consulting Inc. in Pella, Iowa, for allegedly retaining employee contributions owed to the company’s SIMPLE IRA Retirement Plan to pay the operating expenses of the company. Van Elsen Consulting Inc. was an actuarial consulting firm that ceased operations on December 31, 2006.

July 7, 2009

Former casino employee sentenced for theft of 401(k) plan assets

Kansas City — A former employee of a Kansas City, Mo., gaming casino was sentenced to one year in federal prison and three years of supervised probation after completion of her prison term. Dana Wachter also was ordered to make approximately $38,000 in restitution stolen from a co-worker.

The sentencing was based on a criminal investigation by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Regional Office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Kansas City, Missouri and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

July 7, 2009

U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council to hold July 2009 meeting

Washington – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Advisory Council) will meet July 21-23, 2009 in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, Room N-3437A-B.

July 7, 2009

U.S. Department of Labor to offer free health law seminar on July 15 and 16 in Cincinnati

Cincinnati – A free health law compliance assistance seminar for employers, plan fiduciaries and plan services providers, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Ohio Department of Insurance, will take place July 15 and 16 at the Kingsgate Marriott Conference Hotel at the University of Cincinnati, 151 Goodman Drive.

July 6, 2009

U.S. Labor Department obtains appointment of independent fiduciary for profit-sharing plans abandoned by defunct Binghamton, New York, companies

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained two federal court orders appointing the same independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned profit-sharing plans of defunct H&M Tool & Machine Co. Inc. and Valmar Industrial Corp., both formerly located in the Binghamton, New York, area.

July 1, 2009

U.S. Labor Department obtains court actions restoring assets to pension plan of former Dadeville, Alabama, employee leasing company

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has obtained a consent judgment and settlement agreement requiring restoration of more than $10,000 to the pension plan of defunct Professional Employee Leasing Inc. of Dadeville, Alabama.

June 29, 2009

Note to Editors:

Washington - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today made available the archived webcast of the June 18, 2009 hearing joint hearing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The hearing received testimony from 36 witnesses on issues relating to target date funds and other similar investment options.