U.S. Department of Labor sues North Carolina health provider to restore funds to employees’ pension plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued current and former fiduciaries of the money purchase pension plan of Vance-Warren Comprehensive Health Plan Inc. of Manson, North Carolina, to restore more than $120,000 in employer contributions and interest owed to the company’s pension plan.

The Labor Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleges that Vance-Warren, Hazel Silver-Boyd, Charles Worth, Charles Walton and A. Shelton McCray failed to fulfill their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Plan administrator Vance-Warren allegedly failed to pursue collection of $82,047 in mandatory employer contributions, lost earnings on those contributions and contributions recently funded into the trust. The suit also alleges that the company and other fiduciaries co-mingled plan assets with those of the company, and failed to collect and allocate interest income in the amount of $42,094 from December 2004 through October 2005 and plan years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The suit alleges that all of the fiduciaries failed to take reasonable action to rectify these fiduciary breaches.

The suit asks the court to bar the defendants from serving as fiduciaries to any employee benefit plan covered by ERISA, appoint an independent fiduciary to manage the plan and require the defendants to restore to the plan all losses with interest that resulted from their improper actions.

“Employees trust that their retirement accounts will be managed in a prudent manner, and the Labor Department will not hesitate to act to protect heir rights when fiduciaries fail in their duties,” said R.C. Marshall, regional director of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) office in Atlanta.

The case was investigated by EBSA’s Atlanta Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Atlanta Regional Office at 404.302.3900 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In fiscal year 2007, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.5 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families. For more information, see www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Chao v. Vance-Warren Comprehensive Health Plan Inc.
(Civil Action File Number 08-CV-827)

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.