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A New Mexico State Court ordered
Albuquerque-based R.B. French Fire & Sound, Inc. to pay restitution of
employee contributions which the company failed to remit to the company’s
401(k) account and serve 18 months probation.
Also, owners of the company are barred from
becoming involved in the future in any employee benefit plan covered by the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The company pled guilty to a
fourth degree felony on Oct. 15. The corporation had been charged with one
count of fraud over $250 on Sept. 28.
The corporation, a contractor in the business of
installing fire alarm and sound systems, sponsored an ERISA-covered 401(k)
retirement plan for its 30 employees.
The government’s criminal charges alleged
that R. B. French fraudulently retained $24,347.39 of the employees’
401(k) contributions from September 1998 through May 15, 1999 and failed to
remit the contributions as instructed by the employees. The corporation also
allegedly failed to remit its own matching contributions.
“This case is a good example of state and
federal cooperation in pursuing those who deprive participants of their
retirement savings,” said Bruce Ruud, Pension and Welfare Benefits
Administration regional director in Dallas. “Participants who feel there
may be a problem with their employee benefit plans should call my office at
214-767- 6831.”
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the
District Attorney, Second Judicial District in Albuquerque, NM, as a result of
an investigation conducted by the Dallas regional office of the Labor
Department’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.
(State of New Mexico v. R.B. French Fire &
Sound)
Criminal Case # CRCR-99 99 31 43 |
