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Release Date: April 18, 2008
Release Number: 08-338-BOS/BOS 2008-117
Contact Name: John M. Chavez
Phone Number: 617.565.2075
Hartford, Connecticut – The U.S. Department
of Labor has succeeded in obtaining a federal court order prohibiting
the third party administrators to the retirement plans of Wasley
Products Inc. in Plainville, Connecticut, from serving as fiduciaries to
any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) in the future.
The department recently filed suit in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Connecticut against Barry Leonard
Bulakites and James Albert Winslow for alleged violations of ERISA.
Between late 1990 and November 1, 2002, the defendants served as third
party administrators to the company’s defined benefit plan for
unionized employees and its 401(k) plan for non-union, salaried
employees. The suit alleged that the defendants received employee and
employer contributions on behalf of the plans, but did not always
transmit the assets to plan accounts.
“These defendants diverted the employee
contributions to bank accounts to which they had access,” said James
Benages, regional director for the department’s Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA) in Boston. “They then used that money
for their own purposes.”
Since Wasley Products and certain employees and
retirees had previously sued the defendants to recover the diverted
funds, the Labor Department’s suit focused only on ensuring that the
defendants could not repeat their unlawful actions. The consolidated
private suits resulted in a $1.8 million judgment against these
defendants and other parties.
“This case is a good example of how the Labor
Department cooperates with private litigants when their goal is also the
enforcement of plan participants’ rights under ERISA,” said Benages.
This case was investigated by EBSA’s Boston
Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach EBSA at 617.565.9600 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.
Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.
Chao v. Barry Leonard Bulakites, et al
Civil Action Number: 3:08-CV-361 (SRU)
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