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Release Date: January 18, 2008
Release Number: 08-70-CHI
Contact Name: Scott Allen/Brad Mitchell
Phone Number: 312.353.6976
Minneapolis – The U.S. Department of Labor
has sued the owner of Duke’s Body Shop in Crystal, Minnesota, for
allegedly retaining 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. Duke’s Body
Shop is a commercial auto body repair shop.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to restore more than
$25,000 in contributions owed to the plan, to remove Sheila Bergen as
the plan’s fiduciary and to appoint an independent fiduciary to manage
the plan. The department also asks the court to permanently bar Bergen
from serving as a fiduciary to any plan governed by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (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, which investigated the case.
The suit alleges that Bergen violated her fiduciary
duties under ERISA from March 10, 2003, through May 17, 2005. She
allegedly caused Duke’s Body Shop to retain participant contributions
intended for the plan and used plan assets to pay the operating expenses
of the company. At the time of the violations, Bergen was the company’s
office manager with responsibility for Duke’s corporate account. She
subsequently became the owner of Duke’s Body Shop.
Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Kansas City
Regional Office at 816.285.1800 or toll free at 1.866.444.EBSA (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.
Chao v. Bergen
Civil Action Number: 0-08-cv-00169-DSD-SRN
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