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Release Date: 11/23/2004
Release Number: 04-2396-ATL
Contact Name: Gloria Della
Phone Number: 202.693.8664
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Miami, Florida - The U.S. Department of Labor
sued Telcon, Inc. of Pompano Beach, Florida and its president for failure
to forward and timely remit contributions deducted from employees’
paychecks to the company’s 401(k) plan. |
“The
law states that plan fiduciaries have a responsibility to manage the money
set aside in retirement plans for the benefit of employees and their
families,” said Howard Marsh, director of the department’s Atlanta
regional office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
“Our legal action is designed to restore money to pay future benefits to
these plan participants.” |
The
lawsuit alleges that Telcon and Giovanni D’Alessandro violated the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act when they failed to remit or
timely forward employee contributions to the plan beginning in October
1998 and used the assets for the day-to-day operations of the
company. D’Alessandro also served as the plan’s trustee. |
The
suit seeks to require that the defendants restore to the plan all losses
with interest and correct any transactions prohibited by law. The
department also asked that D’Alessandro be permanently barred from
serving as a fiduciary to any plan governed by ERISA in the future. |
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Telcon, which is the plan administrator, is a utility
contractor. The 401(k) plan covered 24 participants and had $215,673 in
assets as of September 30, 2003. |
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
more information about the VFCP, see www.dol.gov/ebsa. |
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The case, filed in federal district court in Miami, Florida,
resulted from an investigation conducted by the EBSA’s Atlanta regional
office. 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
contact the regional office at 404.562.2156 or EBSA’s toll free number,
1.866.444.EBSA (3272), for help with problems relating to private-sector
pension and health plans. |
(Chao
v. Telcon, Inc.)
Civil Action No. 04-61557 |
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. |
