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Release Date: 03/12/1998
Release Number: USDL:
V-74
Contact Name:GLORIA DELLA
Phone Number: 202.219.8921 |
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Chicago-based Illinois Vehicle Insurance Agency,
Inc. (IVIA), its owner and a trustee to the company’s pension plan and
401(k) plan agreed to be removed as plan officials and to be permanently barred
from serving any plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
(ERISA) in the future, according to a judgment obtained by the U. S. Department
of Lab |
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Under the terms of the judgment, IVIA, its owner
and plan trustee Roger Wolf and plan trustee Renee Blustein also agreed to
repay $24,841, representing the outstanding interest owed to the IVIA pension
plan for improper loans and transfers made from the plan.ls |
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The judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the
department on Oct.1, 1997, alleging that the defendants made a series of
improper loans from the pension plan to benefit companies affiliated with Wolf.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants made more than $2 million in improper
loans from the pension plan to companies owned by Wolf, including $350,000 in
loans to IVIA and $1,939,230 in loans to Illinois Vehicle Premium Finance Co.
The lawsuit also alleged that the defendants transferred $82,511.20 in
participant benefit and loan payments from the 401(k) plan to the account of
Lincoln Towers Insurance Agency, another company wholly owned by Wolf, prior to
making distributions to participants. |
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Prior to the entry of the judgment, defendants
restored more than $2.8 million to the pension plan as restitution for the
improper loans, transfers made and interest owed for those transactions. The
payments were made both prior to and after receipt of a notice of violations
sent to them by the Labor Department. |
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The consent order and judgment also appoints
AmalgaTrust Company Inc. of Chicago as the successor trustee and Howard A.
Feinstein & Associate Inc. as the successor administrator of both the
pension and 401(k) plans. |
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IVIA is an insurer providing automobile insurance
primarily to Illinois residents. IVIA's pension and 401(k) plans covered as
many as 575 employees as of Dec. 31, 1995 and had combined assets of $1.2
million. |
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The judgment was entered on March 12, 1998 in
federal district court in Chicago, Illinois. This case resulted from an
investigation by the Chicago Regional Office of the department’s Pension
and Welfare Benefits Administration into alleged violations of ERISA. |
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(Herman v. Illinois Vehicle Insurance Agency Inc.)
Civil Action No. 97-C-6866 |
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U.S. Department of
Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this
news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive
Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your
request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755. |
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