May 24, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Federal Court Ordering Independent Fiduciary to Distribute $535,790 in Retirement Plan Assets

McLEAN, VA - The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ordered the appointment of an independent fiduciary to distribute $535,790 in assets to 24 participants of the Cambridge Technology Group Inc. 401(k) Plan and removed Cambridge Technology Group Inc. and the company’s president and CEO Andrew Carrington as fiduciaries in a default judgment entered on May 22, 2018.

May 17, 2018

Former Owners of Florida Substance Abuse Recovery Center’s Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay $4,045,364 in Restitution for Healthcare Fraud

DELRAY BEACH, FL – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has sentenced the owners of Angel’s Recovery - a Delray Beach substance abuse recovery residence - to prison and ordered them to pay $4,045,364 in restitution after a federal investigation found that they had defrauded healthcare benefit programs. The court sentenced Tovah Jasperson and her father, Alan Martin Bostom, to 78 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, and three years of supervised release; and ordered they be jointly responsible for restitution.

May 15, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Enters into Consent Judgment Permanently Enjoining Former Benefits Administrator after Pension Plan Theft Uncovered

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Following a civil investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama entered a consent judgment between the U.S. Department of Labor and Brandi Box Stephens, a former benefits administrator for the Iron Workers Local Union No. 92 Welfare Plan and the Iron Workers Local Union No.

May 11, 2018

Former Owner of North Carolina’s House of Lights Ordered To Pay $1,639,983 in Restitution to Profit-Sharing Plan

RALEIGH, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina has ordered Thomas E. Beverly Sr. - former owner of the House of Lights Inc. - to pay restitution totaling $1,639,983 to the company’s profit-sharing plan. In addition to the restoration of funds, which includes lost earnings of $331,121 through mid-September 2018, Beverly will pay a successor fiduciary to handle remittance of this restitution to plan beneficiaries.

May 10, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Federal Court Ordering Tennessee Eye Care Company and Former Fund Trustees in Profit-Sharing Plan Theft to Pay $971,622 in Restitution

COOKEVILLE, TN – The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Northeastern Division, has ordered eastern Tennessee eye care company Eye Centers of Tennessee LLC, its owner Dr. Larry E. Patterson, and its office administrator Raymond K. Mays to pay $971,622 in restitution to the company’s 401(k) profit-sharing plan after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

May 8, 2018

Corrected: Court Requires Fiduciaries to Pay $2,225,000 to Vermont ESOP Plus Civil Penalties Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation and Litigation

MONTPELIER, VT – After a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont has entered a consent judgment requiring the fiduciaries of the Sonnax Industries’ employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to pay $2,225,000 to the plan.

May 7, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Reaches Agreement with Defunct Springfield, Ohio, Company to Restore Losses to Retirement Plan

SPRINGFIELD, OH – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Cincinnati office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found that Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC and Amy Demmy  ̶  fiduciary to the Demmy Sand & Gravel LLC Retirement Savings Plan  ̶  violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and are liable to the plan for $350,234.

May 7, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration Issues Field Assistance Bulletin

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2018-02, “Temporary Enforcement Policy on Prohibited Transaction Rules Applicable to Investment Advice Fiduciaries.” The FAB may be viewed here.

May 2, 2018

New Hampshire Man Sentenced for Obstruction Of Justice In Connection With U.S. Department Of Labor Wage and Hour Investigations and Lawsuit

CONCORD, NH – The U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire has sentenced Kevin Corriveau, owner and operator of Kevin Corriveau Painting Inc. of Nashua, to six months imprisonment; two years of supervised release, post-imprisonment; and a $25,000 criminal fine for one count of obstruction of justice.

April 30, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Court Ordering Illinois Business Owner to Restore Losses to Retirement Plan and Trust after Fiduciary Violations

CHICAGO, IL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has entered a judgment requiring Frank Eric Talbert to restore $64,704 in losses owed to The Proteus Group 401(k) Retirement Plan. Talbert served as the sole trustee to the Chicago architectural company’s retirement plan and was part owner and the primary manager of Proteus’s daily operations.

April 27, 2018

Florida Healthcare Center Administrative Assistant Sentenced to Prison After Obstructing U.S. Department of Labor Healthcare Fraud Investigation

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has sentenced Jeffrey Adedoyin Williams – an employee at a Florida addiction treatment center – to 12 months and one day in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment after Williams pleaded guilty to obstruction of a criminal healthcare investigation.

April 26, 2018

Former Financial Executives Sentenced in $179 Million Loan Scam

CHICAGO, IL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the FBI has led to prison sentences for two former officials of Orlando, Florida-based First Farmers Financial LLC (FFF). The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, resulted in guilty pleas by the pair for their involvement in the sale of $179 million in fraudulent loans to a Milwaukee company that provided investment services to 42 retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

April 23, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Releases Field Assistance Bulletin Clarifying Issues Regarding Proxy Voting, Shareholder Engagement, and Economically Targeted Investments

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) providing guidance to EBSA’s national and regional offices regarding proxy voting, shareholder engagement, and economically targeted investments by fiduciaries of private-sector employee benefit plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

April 20, 2018

Court Orders Payment of Employee Benefit Plan Funds In Southern California After Fiduciaries Default on Settlement Agreement

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has entered a consent judgment ordering Information Networking Company Inc., and its president John Benjamin Riddle, to restore $47,408 to the company’s employee benefit plan.

The judgment resolves a January 2018 lawsuit in which the U.S. Department of Labor alleged the defendants failed to remit employee contributions, collect matching employer contributions, and defaulted on a prior settlement agreement with the Department to restore funds owed to the plan.

April 6, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Uncovers Healthcare Fraud, Leads to 71-Month Sentence for Florida Recovery Residence Owner

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has sentenced Albert Samukia Jones-Saye, the owner of a substance abuse recovery residence, to 71 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The sentencing is in addition to $2,071,406 in court-ordered restitution by Jones-Saye following a previous guilty plea to conspiring with others to commit healthcare fraud.

March 30, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in General Foreman at Port Elizabeth Being Sentenced to Two Years in Prison and Paying $749,000 in Restitution for Salary Fraud

NEWARK, NJ – After a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has sentenced Paul Moe, Sr., a member of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and general foreman for a Port Elizabeth terminal operator, to 24 months in prison for fraudulently collecting a nearly $500,000 annual salary, much of which was for work he never performed. The court also sentenced Moe to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $749,000 in restitution.

March 28, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Federal Court Ordering Former 401(k) Manager to Pay Restitution

BLAIRS, VA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has sentenced Felix Rafael Ginorio to time served plus two years supervised release, and has ordered him to pay restitution of $87,276 for stealing from an employee benefit plan, and failing to pay federal taxes. As a result of his conviction, Ginorio is barred from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to an employee benefit plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

March 27, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Former CEO of Nebraska Pharmaceutical Benefits Management Company Being Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Kickback Scheme

TYLER, TX – After a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has sentenced Douglas M. Pick, former CEO of Pharmaceutical Technologies, Inc. (PTI), to one year and one day in federal prison for paying illegal kickbacks in an effort to steer benefit plans to the company. The sentencing of Pick follows his Feb. 13, 2017, guilty plea.

March 23, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Former Union Trustee Admitting to Causing False Entry for Expense Reimbursements

CHICAGO, IL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), a U.S. District Court in Chicago has sentenced Robert Melko, a former trustee of the Trust Fund for Apprentice & Journeyman Education &Training, Local 130 U.A., to six months of probation and 60 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to willfully causing a false entry in books, records, reports, and statements in violation of Title 29 U.S. Code Section 439(c).

March 6, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Trustee Being Sentenced for Theft of Employee Benefit Plan Funds in California

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, has ordered a former pension benefit plan trustee to pay $234,271 in restitution and to serve one year of probation for violating federal criminal statutes pertaining to plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).