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Release Date: January 10, 2007
Release Number: 07-37-PHI (EBSA 07-002)
Contact Name: Kate Dugan
Phone Number: 215.861.5101
Philadelphia - The U.S. Department of Labor
sued Nations Financial Group Inc., Seven Fields, Pennsylvania, its
president Mark Damiani and corporate secretary Valerie Damiani over
failure to remit contributions and loan repayments deducted from
employees’ paychecks to the company’s 401(k) profit sharing plan.
The lawsuit alleges that the company and the Damianis
violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when they
failed to forward certain plan contributions and loan repayments
deducted from employees’ paychecks and to remit other contributions
and repayments in a timely manner from January 2002 through July 2005.
“This legal action should put employers and plan
sponsors on notice that this department will not hesitate to enforce the
law to ensure that workers receive the benefits to which they are
entitled,” said Mabel Capolongo, regional director in Philadelphia of
the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
Filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District
of Pennsylvania, the suit seeks a court order to remove the company and
the individual defendants as plan fiduciaries; to require them to
restore any losses to the plan plus lost opportunity costs; and to
appoint an independent fiduciary to terminate the plan. The suit also
asks that the defendants be permanently barred from serving as
fiduciaries to any plan in the future.
The suit resulted from an investigation conducted by
EBSA’s Philadelphia regional office. Employers and workers needing
help with problems related to private-sector retirement and health plans
can reach the regional office at 215.861.5300 or they may call EBSA’s
toll-free number 1.866.444.EBSA (3272).
In fiscal year 2005, EBSA achieved monetary results
of $1.7 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits
for millions of American workers and their families. Information on EBSA
is available from the agency’s Web site www.dol.gov/ebsa.
(Chao v. Damiani)
Civil Action No. 2:06-cv-1703
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Department's Newsroom
page. The information in this news release will be made available
in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or
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placing your request at 202.693.7765 or TTY 202.693.7755. The U.S.
Department of Labor is committed to providing America's employers and
employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply
with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit the
Department's Compliance
Assistance page.
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