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Release Date: 05/21/2003
Release Number: 50
Contact Name: Deanne Amaden
Phone Number: 415.975.4741
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San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department
of Labor obtained a consent judgment May 16 ordering the owners of The
Permanent Wiseguys, Inc., a now-defunct marketing and advertising firm, to
repay $39,000 to the company’s 401(k) benefit plan for failing to remit
contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks. |
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The judgment permanently bars Elizabeth Wardley Kwong
and Raymond Kwong, the company’s owners and plan’s trustees, from
serving any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act. The judgment also ordered the Kwongs to forfeit their
individual account balances in the 401(k) plan to repay the losses of
other plan participants. An independent fiduciary was also appointed to
distribute the plan’s assets and proceed with an orderly termination of
the 401(k) plan. |
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The Labor Department began investigating the case in
July 2000 after receiving complaints from employees. The company filed for
bankruptcy protection in September 2000. As of December 31, 2000, the
401(k) plan had 21 participants and assets totaling $147,153. The judgment
was entered in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. |
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“We are pleased to be able to return this money to
the employees who earned it,” said Billy Beaver, regional director of
the Los Angeles office of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA), which investigated the case. Beaver urges
employees to carefully monitor their 401(k) plan contributions, and to ask
questions when necessary. “When funds are not remitted to the plan, it
can be a sign of trouble, and we want to get in and help protect those
retirement savings for workers as soon as possible.” |
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Beaver noted that employers with similar problems, who
are not yet the subject of an investigation by EBSA, may be eligible to
participate in the department’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP).
Participation in the VFCP requires employers to make workers whole, but
allows them to avoid EBSA enforcement actions and civil penalties, as well
as any applicable excise taxes. For information about the VFCP see
www.dol.gov/ebsa. |
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Employers and workers with questions or concerns
regarding their private-sector pension and health plans can contact the
EBSA regional office in Los Angeles at 626.229.1000 or EBSA’s toll free
number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272). |
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(Chao v. Kwong)
Civil Action No. 02-6098 |
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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. |
