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Release Date: October 17, 2007
Release Number: 07-1586-BOS/BOS 2007-305
Contact Name: John M. Chavez
Phone Number: 617.565.2075
Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has
sued to obtain a court order requiring the trustees of the abandoned
401(k) pension benefit plan of the Warren, Rhode Island-based
VikinGlobal Corp. to properly administer the plan. The suit also seeks
to distribute more than $12,000 in plan assets to eligible participants
and beneficiaries.
The department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Rhode Island, alleges that plan
trustees Robert Anderson and Mark Schmidt violated their fiduciary
duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) during
the period from October 1, 2002, to the present. Anderson and Schmidt
were co-owners of the plan sponsor, VikinGlobal, which ceased operations
in early 2002. Since then, participants and beneficiaries, who are
mainly former employees of the company, have been unable to gain access
to or obtain information about their individual account balances.
Plans become “orphan plans” when they are
abandoned by all fiduciaries designated to manage and operate them and
their assets. The plan had 13 participants and approximately $12,000 in
assets being held by custodian BlackRock Funds.
“The department took legal action to ensure that
the participants receive their promised benefits,” said James Benages,
director of the Boston Regional Office of the department’s Employee
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), which investigated the case.
The suit asks the court to permanently enjoin
defendants Anderson and Schmidt from serving as fiduciaries to any ERISA-covered
plan other than the VikinGlobal Corp. 401(k) Plan; to require them to
administer the plan, and distribute the plan’s assets to participants
and beneficiaries, and then to terminate the plan.
The department’s legal action resulted from an
investigation conducted by EBSA’s Boston Regional Office. Employers
and workers can contact the Boston office at 617.565.9600 or toll-free
at 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) for help with any problems relating to private
sector pension and health plans. In fiscal year 2006, EBSA achieved
monetary results of $1.4 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and
other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.
Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.
Chao v. VikinGlobal Corp.
Civil Action Number: CA 07 364 S
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page. The information in this news release will be made available
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placing your request at 202.693.7828 or TTY 202.693.7755. The U.S.
Department of Labor is committed to providing America's employers and
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with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit the
Department's Compliance
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