October 24, 2012

US Department of Labor files complaint to restore funds to Grand Craft LLC 401(k) Plan in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Date of Action: Oct. 23, 2012

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendants: Timothy Masek and Grand Craft, LLC as fiduciaries to the Grand Craft, LLC 401(k) Plan

Allegations: Timothy Masek and Grand Craft, LLC as fiduciaries to the Grand Craft, LLC 401(k) Plan

October 18, 2012

Judge appoints independent fiduciary to administer abandoned 401(k) profit sharing plan of Winer Industries Inc. in Paterson, N.J.

Date of Action: Oct. 11, 2012

Type of Action: Order and judgment

Name(s) of Defendant: Winer Industries Inc. 401(k) profit sharing plan

October 18, 2012

Judge appoints independent fiduciary to administer abandoned 401(k) profit sharing plan of Winer Industries Inc. in Paterson, N.J.

Date of Action: Oct. 11, 2012

Type of Action: Order and judgment

Name(s) of Defendant: Winer Industries Inc. 401(k) profit sharing plan

October 15, 2012

Judge orders fiduciary Ronald Bloomgren to restore more than $19,000 to the Earmold Design, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan in Minneapolis, Minn.

Date of Action: Oct. 15, 2012

Type of Action: Judgment

Name of Defendants: Ronald Bloomgren, individually and as a fiduciary to the Earmold Design 401(k) Savings Plan

October 15, 2012

Judge orders fiduciary to restore more than $6,300 to ECS Web Employees 401(k) Plan & Trust in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Date of Action: Oct. 15, 2012

Type of Action: Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: Robert Fassanella, individually and as a fiduciary to the ECS Web Employees 401(k) Plan & Trust; ECS Web Employees 401(k) Plan & Trust

October 15, 2012

Judge orders fiduciary Ronald Bloomgren to restore more than $19,000 to the Earmold Design, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan in Minneapolis, Minn.

Date of Action: Oct. 15, 2012

Type of Action: Judgment

Name of Defendants: Ronald Bloomgren, individually and as a fiduciary to the Earmold Design 401(k) Savings Plan

October 15, 2012

US Department of Labor files suit to terminate Nutrition Clinic 401(k) Plan in Rockford, Ill., and provide funds to participants

Date of Action: Oct. 10, 2012

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Gautam Gupta, Nutrition Clinic 401(k) Plan

October 15, 2012

US Department of Labor files suit to terminate Nutrition Clinic 401(k) Plan in Rockford, Ill., and provide funds to participants

Date of Action: Oct. 10, 2012

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Gautam Gupta, Nutrition Clinic 401(k) Plan

October 15, 2012

Judge orders fiduciary to restore more than $6,300 to ECS Web Employees 401(k) Plan & Trust in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Date of Action: Oct. 15, 2012

Type of Action: Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: Robert Fassanella, individually and as a fiduciary to the ECS Web Employees 401(k) Plan & Trust; ECS Web Employees 401(k) Plan & Trust

October 11, 2012

US Department of Labor files complaint to restore loss to T.S. Randall Company, LLC Retirement Savings Plan in Columbus, Ohio

Date of Action: Oct. 5, 2012  

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendant: Tracy S. Randall, T.S. Randall Company LLC, T.S. Randall Company LLC Retirement Savings Plan

October 11, 2012

US Department of Labor files complaint to restore loss to T.S. Randall Company, LLC Retirement Savings Plan in Columbus, Ohio

Date of Action: Oct. 5, 2012  

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendant: Tracy S. Randall, T.S. Randall Company LLC, T.S. Randall Company LLC Retirement Savings Plan

October 9, 2012

Judge appoints AMI Benefit Plan to administer LFAC Inc. Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan and distribute assets to qualified participants

Date of Action: Oct. 3, 2012

Type of Action: Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: LFAC Inc. Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan

Allegations: LFAC, Inc. was acquired by the General Castings Company in approximately 1996.  Subsequently, General Castings Company served as the plan’s sponsor and administrator.  The plan was abandoned when General Castings Company ceased doing business in 2004.

October 3, 2012

Judge order fiduciaries to restore funds to Accucast Technology 401(k) and Health Plan in Chesterton, Ind.

Date of Action: Oct. 2, 2012

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: Joseph A. Seher, Pat Mowery, Cheryl Sloan, Accucast Technology LLC 401(k) Plan and Accucast Technology LLC Health Plan

Allegations: Mowery and Sloan in their capacity as fiduciaries to the Accucast Technology LLC 401(k) Plan and Accucast Technology LLC Health Plan failed to ensure employee contributions were forwarded to the plan.

October 2, 2012

US Labor Department sues to recover losses suffered by participants in employee stock ownership plan of Calif.-based Sierra Aluminum

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against GreatBanc Trust Co. and Sierra Aluminum Co. in the U.S.

October 1, 2012

401(k) plan trustees sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $487,000 from Shelbyville, Ky., company

WASHINGTON − Following a plea agreement entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, William H. Kiser and Mary Sue Kiser, trustees of the Irotas Manufacturing Co. Inc. 401(k) Plan, have been sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling funds from the plan. The Kisers also have been ordered to pay restitution.

September 19, 2012

Employee Benefits Security Administration announces launch of 401(k) fee disclosure resource website

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has announced a new 401(k) fee disclosure website as a resource for consumers. The new site, www.dol.gov/ebsa-copy/publications/understandingretirementfees.html, offers information on disclosures that, for the first time, will help workers with 401(k)-type retirement plans see what they are paying to invest their savings. It also includes new tips and tools on making smart retirement investment decisions.

September 17, 2012

US Labor Department announces easy-to-use online filing tool for plan sponsors to report service providers that fail to comply with fee disclosure rule

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration announced today that plan sponsors seeking fiduciary relief for a service provider’s failure to comply with the department’s plan-level fee disclosure rule will be able to use a new online filing system, replacing the option of electronically sending notices to a previously established email address.

September 13, 2012

ERISA Advisory Council to hold open meeting Sept. 25

WASHINGTON – A meeting of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will take place Sept. 25 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in Room 4 of Suite C-5521, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210.

September 6, 2012

US Labor Department sues Plymouth Meeting, Pa., brokerage firm to give up more than a half-million dollars in illegal profits

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against defendants Dietrich & Associates Inc., an insurance brokerage firm in Plymouth Meeting, and its chief executive officer and sole shareholder, Kurt E. Dietrich, to disgorge $522,047 plus interest gained from illegal activities related to the company’s role as fiduciary to a hospital pension plan. The department’s suit is based on an investigation conducted by its Employee Benefits Security Administration that found violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

August 30, 2012

Judge orders A.B.D. Tank & Pump Co. to restore $2.7 million to worker retirement plan following US Labor Department investigation

ELMHURST, Ill. – Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and resulting lawsuit, a federal court has issued a default judgment against Elmhurst-based A.B.D. Tank & Pump Co. to restore $2,767,051 to the company’s retirement plan.  Keith Davis, the company’s president and sole owner, allegedly depleted the assets of the plan through a series of withdrawals and transfers to himself and the company from Dec. 6, 2006, through Nov. 4, 2010, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.