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Release Date: 03/10/2003
Release Number: 154
Contact Name: Rita Ford
Phone Number: 202.693.8671
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Minneapolis, Minnesota - The fiduciaries of a
401(k) plan in Minneapolis have been ordered to restore $17,500 to a
401(k) plan as the result of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of
Labor to recover money that was withheld from employees’ paychecks but
not deposited in their plan accounts. The trustees also were ordered to
relinquish their right to employee contributions withheld from their
paychecks amounting to an additional $2,900. |
John M. Tuschner, Dennis B. Reiter, and Francis A.
Dahlberg, were the trustees of the Tuschner 401(k) Plan. Other parties
required to contribute to the amount repaid included Equity Capital Group,
Inc. and Sammy Fleschler, trustee of the Hou-Tex Trust, who allegedly had
been owners of Tuschner Financial Group, Inc. (TFGI), the plan sponsor.
The trustees also were ordered to terminate the plan and distribute the
additional contributions to participants and beneficiaries. |
“This action underscores the Department of Labor’s
commitment to preserve and secure the benefits promised to employees by
their employers,” said Gregory Egan, director of the department’s
Kansas City regional office of the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA), which investigated the case. |
The judgment resulted from a lawsuit filed by the
department in January 2002 in federal district court in Minneapolis. The
lawsuit alleged that the defendants in the case violated the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act by failing to remit employee contributions
withheld from their paychecks and designated for the 401(k) plan of TFGI
for the period February through June 1999. TFGI was a securities brokerage
firm that was incorporated in July 1993. Its 401(k) plan had 25
participants and assets of $213,400 as of December 31, 1998. The judgment
was entered on March 6. |
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 VFCP requires employers to make workers whole but
allows them to avoid EBSA enforcement actions and civil penalties as well
as applicable excise taxes. For more information about the VFCP see
www.dol.gov/ebsa. |
Employers and workers can reach the Kansas City
regional office at 816.426.5131 or EBSA’s toll free number,
1.866.444.3276, for help with problems relating to private-sector pension
and health plans. |
(Chao v. John M. Tuschner, et. al.
Civil Action No. 02-CV-114) |
U.S. Department of Labor
news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news
release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive
Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing
your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755. |