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Release Date: 02/08/2005
Release Number: 05-142-SAN (SF-009)
Contact Name: Deanne Amaden
Phone Number: 415.975.4741
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San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department
of Labor has sued two senior executives of Oakland-based Manna Consultants
Inc. for failure to transfer employees’ contributions to the company’s
401(k) plan. |
The
Department of Labor suit seeks $57,451 plus interest for 20 former
employees who were plan participants. The defendants allegedly commingled
employees’ contributions with the general corporate account over a
period of several years when the company had insufficient funds to meet
other financial obligations. |
The
defendants named in the suit are Anh-Tuan Le of San Francisco, president
and majority shareholder of the company, and Katherine L. Rice of Oakland,
operations manager. Rice was a trustee of the plan. The suit seeks to
permanently bar Le and Rice from acting as fiduciaries or service
providers of employee benefit plans covered by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA). The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of California. |
“This
sends a strong message to those responsible for employee benefit plans
that they cannot misuse their employees’ funds,” said Francis Clisham,
regional director of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) in San Francisco, which investigated the case. |
Manna Consultants, which had offices in Oakland, San
Francisco and San Jose, provided engineering planning and consulting
services to Bay Area transportation companies such as BART and CalTrain
before discontinuing operations in 2004. |
Employers
with similar problems who are not yet the subject of an investigation by
EBSA may be eligible to participate in the department’s Voluntary
Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). Participation in the program requires
employers to reimburse plans and participants but allows them to avoid
EBSA enforcement actions and civil penalties as well as any applicable
excise taxes. For more information about the VFCP, see www.dol.gov/ebsa. |
In
fiscal year 2004, EBSA achieved record monetary results of $3.1 billion
related to the pension, 401(k), health and other benefits of millions of
American workers and their families. Employers and workers with questions
or concerns regarding their private-sector pension and health plans can
contact the EBSA regional office in San Francisco at 415.975.4600 or EBSA’s
toll free number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272). Information is also available
from the agency’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa. |
(Chao
v. Le)
Civil Action No. C 04-05438-FMS |
U.S.
Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at
www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available
in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or
disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when
placing your request at 202.693.7765 or TTY 202.693.7755. The U.S.
Department of Labor is committed to providing America's employers and
employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply
with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit
www.dol.gov/compliance. |