|
|
|
Release Date: 12/12/2002
Release Number: 71
Contact Name: Gloria Della
Phone Number: 202.693.8664
|
Printer
Friendly Version
|
|
|
|
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The U.S. Department of
Labor has charged Radio Plus, Inc. of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and its
owners with misusing funds intended for its employees’ 401 (k) plan,
including employees who worked for BBK Broadcasting, Inc., before it
became Radio Plus. |
|
The department filed a lawsuit in federal district
court in Milwaukee in late November against the company and two trustees
of the BBK Broadcasting, Inc. 401(k) Plan, Chris Bernier and Terry
Holzmann. All are accused of violating their duties under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). |
|
“Trustees of a 401(k) plan have certain
responsibilities to ensure that the assets of the plan are used solely to
benefit participants. One of the most important is putting money from
workers’ wages into their 401(k) accounts on time,” said Kenneth Bazar,
regional director in Chicago for the Labor Department’s Pension and
Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA), which investigated this case. |
|
The defendants allegedly failed to timely separate and
remit employee contributions to the investment accounts of workers,
retained plan assets with those of the company, did not obtain a fidelity
bond as required by law and failed to collect lost opportunity costs owed
on the contributions. The plan, which covered as many as 23 participants,
had assets of $164,765 as of December 29, 2000. |
|
The department is seeking a court order requiring the
defendants to reimburse the plan for all losses with interest, to offset
any plan accounts of the trustees, to obtain a fidelity bond, and to
cancel any prohibited transactions with the plan, including return of an
illegal profits received by the defendants. |
|
The lawsuit also asks that the trustees be permanently
barred from serving as fiduciaries of any plan governed by ERISA and to
require the appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage the plan. |
|
Bazar noted that employers with similar problems who
are not yet the subject of an investigation by PWBA may be eligible to
participate in the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP).
Participation in the VFCP requires employers to make workers whole but
allows them to avoid PWBA enforcement actions and civil penalties as well
as any applicable excise taxes. |
|
Employers and workers can reach the Chicago regional
office through PWBA’s Toll-Free Employee & Employer Hotline number,
1.866.275.7922, for help with problems relating to private-sector pension
and health plans. For more information about the VFCP see www.dol.gov/pwba. |
|
(Chao v. Radio Plus, Inc.)
|
|
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. |
