U.S. Labor Department sues owner of Minneapolis coffee company to recover employee SIMPLE IRA contributions

Minneapolis – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of Marcel's Coffee Gourmet Inc. in Minneapolis for allegedly using employee contributions owed to the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) to pay the operating expenses of the company. Marcel's Coffee Gourmet Inc. was a distributor of coffee and coffee supplies until it ceased operations in December 2008.

The lawsuit alleges that Jon Lonneman violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when he caused the company to retain and failed to deposit employee contributions into the plan. Lonneman allegedly used the money to pay the operating expenses of the company. Between January 2006 and December 2008, the defendant failed to remit $15,032.75 in employee contributions and to timely remit $47,828.88 in contributions from March 2005 to December 2008.

The suit seeks a court order to restore money owed to the plan with interest and to appoint an independent fiduciary, if necessary, to distribute the plan's assets and terminate the plan. The suit also asks the court to require Lonneman to correct any transactions prohibited by law and permanently bar him from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any plan governed by ERISA.

"The Labor Department acts quickly to help workers get their benefits when plan assets are either misused or the plans are abandoned," said Steve Eischen, director of the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Kansas City Regional Office in Missouri, which investigated the case.

Employers and workers can reach EBSA's Kansas City Regional Office at 816-285-1800 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In fiscal year 2009, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.3 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.

Solis v. Lonneman
Civil Action Number 0:09-cv-03520-RHK-JJG

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