St. Paul, Minnesota - Former trustees of Eagan,
Minnesota-based Online Data Incorporated 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan have
been ordered to restore $19,978.98 in delinquent employee contributions
and lost earnings to the plan. The court order also provides for the
resignation of the former trustees as fiduciaries for the plan, the U.S.
Labor Department announced today.
In a lawsuit that resulted in a 2004 default judgment,
the Labor Department alleged that former trustees Richard and Sally Benson
violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to remit
the full amount of employee contributions owed the 401(k) plan from June
1999 to October 2001. The Bensons allegedly commingled the contributions
with the assets of the company and used them for their own benefit.
Richard Benson was the owner of Online Data Inc., a
marketing company, whose business operations were sold in December 2001,
after which the Bensons failed to administer and terminate the plan,
leaving participants without a means to collect their retirement benefits.
“The law requires that plan fiduciaries act
responsibly in managing money set aside in retirement plans for the
benefit of workers and their families,” said Steven Eischen, director of
the department’s Kansas City regional office of the Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA), which investigated the case.
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 Compliance 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 can contact the regional office at 816.426.5131 or EBSA’s
toll-free number at 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) for help with problems relating
to private-sector retirement and health plans.
(Chao v. Richard Benson and Sally Benson)
Civil Action No. 03-CV-3198 |