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Release Date: 02/16/2005
Release Number: 05-222-PHI
Contact Name: Rita Ford
Phone Number: 202.693.8671
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Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor
obtained a judgment ordering Washington, DC-based A & D Insurance,
Inc. and its president to restore $955,515 to its employee benefit plan
clients. The defendants allegedly deposited money collected to purchase
insurance for the 27 plans into the company’s corporate accounts. |
“The
hardworking men and women whose plans invested with A & D Insurance
trusted the insurers to preserve their union-sponsored pension and health
benefits,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “This
Administration is committed to protecting the benefits of America’s
workers and retirees, and we won’t hesitate to act to ensure that plan
assets are managed responsibly. This year, we achieved record monetary
results, recovering $3.1 billion in retirement, 401(k), health and other
benefits.” |
The
judgment, entered in the federal district court in Washington, DC,
resulted from a 2002 lawsuit filed by the department. In a memorandum
filed December 17, 2004, the judge ruled that from August 1996 to August
2002, A & D Insurance, Inc. and its president Brittian P. Day were
paid by the plans to purchase insurance. Instead, the defendants deposited
the plans’ money into A & D’s corporate accounts and provided the
plans with false insurance policies in violation of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The judgment also bars the company
and Day from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any plan governed by ERISA
in the future, including acting as an insurance agent, broker or
representative in any capacity to ERISA plans. |
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The plans include the pension, annuity, health and
vacation funds of Ironworkers Local Union No. 16; the pension, health and
welfare, and vacation funds of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Local No.
1 of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia-Baltimore Chapter;
Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Local No. 1 Pension Fund of Virginia;
Bricklayers and Stonemasons Local No. 2 Pension Fund of Norfolk, Va. and
Welfare Fund of Norfolk, Virginia; Iron Workers Local Union No. 5 and Iron
Workers Employers Association Employees' Pension Fund; Iron Workers Trust
Fund Local Union No. 5; Iron Workers Local Union No. 5 and Iron Workers
Employers Association Apprenticeship Fund; the pension, welfare and
individual account funds of the Marble Tile & Terrazzo Workers;
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 51
Health & Welfare Fund; Washington Area Carpenters Pension &
Retirement Fund; Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters' Health Fund;
the pension and health and welfare trust funds of Beverage and Brewery
Drivers Local No. 67; Criss Brothers, Inc./Shopmen's Local Union No. 486
Retirement Trust Fund; the pension, welfare, vacation and apprentice funds
of Rodman Local; and the legal services, pension and welfare funds of the
Warehouse Employees Union Local No. 730 & Contributing Companies. |
In
August 2004, Day was indicted for embezzlement of plan assets and mail and
wire fraud connected to the scheme. If convicted of the charges, Day faces
up to 20 years on each of the mail fraud counts and 10 years each on the
wire fraud and theft counts. The Philadelphia regional office of the Labor
Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the criminal case. The U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is prosecuting the case. |
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In fiscal year 2004, EBSA achieved record monetary
results of $3.1 billion related to the pension, 401(k), health and other
benefits of millions of American workers and their families. Employers and
workers can reach EBSA’s Washington district office at 301.713.2000 or
through EBSA’s toll-free number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272), for help with
problems relating to private-sector retirement and health plans. |
(Chao
v. Brittian P. Day)
Civil Action No. 02-1516 (LFO) |
U.S.
Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at
www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available
in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or
disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when
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
www.dol.gov/compliance. |
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